Public Surveillance Unit
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The Public Surveillance Unit or PSU is a fictional institution in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. It was introduced in prog 959. Notable PSU characters in the comic strip are Judge Niles, its chief, and Judge Roffman, who frequently assists Judge Dredd in surveillance, espionage and tracking criminals. Former PSU-chief Judge Edgar is also a recurring character and a rival of Dredd.
[edit] Overview
PSU is an organisation within the Justice Department of Mega-City One. It is responsible for monitoring every activity of every one of the 400 million citizens who inhabit the city. The whole city is full of surveillance cameras which automatically record and log every sighting of each citizen on the PSU computers – locations, dates and times, and associates. PSU also records every credit card transaction and every purchase anybody makes. They also keep fingerprints and DNA records. This information is used to build up detailed files on every individual in the city, updated throughout their lifetimes. It is normally used for solving crimes, but can also be used to keep dissidents under control and to keep an eye on democracy activists.
PSU has its headquarters inside the Statue of Judgement. It also has staff at section houses across the city.
[edit] Heads of PSU
- Judge Jura Edgar (2100–2122)
- Judge Rog Niles (2122–incumbent)
PSU's longest serving head was Judge Edgar, who occasionally used the secrets at her disposal to increase her own influence. This led people to compare her to the 20th century FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. In 2122 she was discovered to be keeping sensitive information on other senior judges, apparently for the purposes of blackmail, and was arrested. Although she was acquitted of all charges, she was still dismissed from office by the chief judge. Judge Niles, who led the investigation, succeeded her to head the PSU.
