An in-depth examination of the ways in which the comic strip Judge Dredd, published in 2000 AD, has predicted the changing face of policing in Britain over the last 45 years.<\/p>\n
He is the law – and you better believe it!<\/p>\n
Judge, jury and executioner, Judge Dredd is the brutal comic book cop policing the chaotic future urban jungle of Mega-City One, created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra and launching in the pages of 2000 AD in 1977.<\/p>\n
But what began as a sci-fi action comic quickly evolved into a searing satire on hardline, militarised policing and \u2018law and order\u2019 politics, its endless inventiveness and ironic humour acting as a prophetic warning about our world today – and with important lessons for our future.<\/p>\n
Blending comic book history with contemporary radical theories on policing, I Am The Law takes key Dredd stories from the last 45 years and demonstrates how they provide a unique wake up call about our gradual, and not so gradual, slide towards authoritarian policing.<\/p>\n
From the politicisation of policing to \u2018zero tolerance\u2019, from violent suppression of protest to the rise of the surveillance state, I Am The Law examines how a comic book warned us about the chilling endgame of today’s ‘law and order’ politics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n