What are some works of fiction that address managing 'unlawful' behavior in ways that don't utterly dehumanize people?
It's not showing up much in my fantasy fiction, but I notice there's a sizeable gap in my worldbuilding when it comes to because I've only ever seen policing and prison as shitty in real life.
The closest I have is semi-formal community policing where people work on mandated shifts, but it's more of a town guard from monsters/the occasional magical brawl.
Also if there are some good bits of real world writing on alternatives to policing, I'd love to see those too.
Some more thoughts on that last bit: it always fascinated me how organizations like the mafia started out as something the Left would appreciate as a community organization, or how fascists twisted the ideas of unions and syndicalism from the Left. Even the Third Gender thing I mention, I feel conflicted about since it's a racket but from context and history I know how they have been kind of forced into making a living that way. Even situations like people of color becoming police officers, trying to help their community. A lot of moral grayness I think could make for a good story
Oh my god this is all so helpful. Thank you! The societies I'm writing are flawed, but ultimately good. However, I wanted to have a better framework for how the unwanted people in society are seen and this provides a lot of context.
There were serious events that happened in the setting that led to the establishment of a response force, but material conditions worsened and the organization became an extension of the governing body.
I also wanted to explore other forms of punishment and restorative justice through the implementation of magic. I'll definitely check out the Dispossessed. It's been on my list to read, but I moved it up several spaces.
Thanks again!