Statement § 2 [Filter > Police Force]

[prosecutes]

[Edgeworth holds in his hand Adachi's latest report of recently departed and newly arrived citizens. The report was, as usual, handed to him in the morning. It contains no mention of Dahlia Hawthorne. If it is to be trusted (and for the time being, Edgeworth will indeed believe that Tohru has been doing his job properly), then her arrival was sometime earlier in the day.]

Attention, all members of the police force: Be on the lookout for a recent arrival named Dahlia Hawthorne.

/Dahlia.jpg

This woman is a known criminal with a history of manipulation, attempted homicide and murder in the first degree. She is capable of posing as her twin sister Iris. Use your best judgment and do not confuse the two under any circumstance.

/Iris.jpg

This message is only a warning, not an arrest warrant. In accordance with Somarium's laws, Dahlia remains innocent until proven guilty of a crime in this world. If confronted, she is likely to put on a helpless and innocent act. Convincing as it may be, she is not to be trusted.

Comments

[chose-death.livejournal.com]

[Javert examined the images carefully. The two girls were nearly identical save for their starkly different hair colors, but Javert could not discount the possibility of cosmetic hair-dye or wigs.

He would have to treat this case... ah. Delicately, so to speak. Or, in Javert's case, he would merely have to remain clever about it.]

Noted.

She will not remain 'innocent' for long if she is as you say.

[prosecutes]

That is what concerns me the most. She has motive to seek revenge on Wright and myself for ruining her plans in court. Her sister may be at risk as well... and I would not put it past her to threaten Wright's daughter either.

Dahlia's past modi operandi consisted of nearly instantaneous deaths: a swift-acting poison and high voltage electrocution.

I don't want any fatalities, Inspector.

[chose-death.livejournal.com]

[Javert does not appear worried. In fact, he is exceedingly calm and confident. Dahlia will be caught, he was sure of that. His lids were cast to the floor in thought.]

Then she will be watched. Kuzunoha is capable. Wright can report any activity he notes.

[He raises his eyes to Edgeworth.]

We will nab her when she is just about to finish sharpening her knife. You know the proper point; only when her guilt is undeniable, but before she can complete any crime.

[prosecutes]

That would be the ideal situation, yes.

She plans the crimes in advance and manages to cover her tracks well. Kuzonoha had better be both attentive and capable of seeing through her deceptive facade.

[chose-death.livejournal.com]

[Hm. A single eyebrow arches upward.]

His won't be the only eyes on her. You don't mean to say she is la criminelle parfaite - no, none of them are perfect! They always commit again.

Time is the uncertainty here.

[prosecutes]

No, of course not.

Observe her closely, but keep your distance. She will act differently if she notices that she is being watched.

[chose-death.livejournal.com]

[The expression he casts at Edgeworth could be described as one Shakespeare would have cast an amateur auteur that had just suggested to him a rhyme.

... And yet his tone remains respectful.]

Consider it done, M. Edgeworth.

[A bow of his head into the video feed.]

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

Even if it wasn't in this world, should murderers still be allowed to roam free?

[prosecutes]

Habeas Corpus, I'm afraid.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

...So we're supposed to just wait for her to do it again, then?

[prosecutes]

The ideal situation would be to catch her with sufficient proof before the actual crime is committed, hence the warning I've issued.

We lack evidence. Testimony alone cannot condemn a person.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

It's always been enough where I'm from.

[prosecutes]

Consider the following scenario: Two men arrive from the same world. Both men come to the authorities and inform us that the other is a murderer and should be imprisoned. There is no evidence to back either argument, only their verbal claims. Now tell me, Asch, how would you then know which man to believe?

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't, obviously. I'm not an idiot.

But this isn't the same.

[prosecutes]

The only difference here is that the claims made have come from a reliable source.

If we allow this to become a valid form of evidence, then any given citizen should have the right to testify the same way. How would we judge the credibility of future testimonies in such a system? It leaves too large a margin of error and a high risk of corruption.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

So instead you're just leaving her free, putting everyone in danger.

[prosecutes]

Instead, I am sending out a warning to the entire police force and asking its members to keep close watch over her. What more would you have me do?

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

Arrest her, obviously. It's not like I'm saying she should be killed for it.

[prosecutes]

On what charges would I be arresting her?

Somarium's laws are for dealing with those who commit crimes in Somarium itself. So far, she has done nothing.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

...Fine. But I won't stand idly by if Van arrives here.

[prosecutes]

Someone from your world?

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

A crazed maniac who tried to destroy the entire world, kill everyone, and replace them with replicas.

[prosecutes]

(...Replicas? Must be a mad scientist.)

The same protocol would be used. Van would be placed under close observation by the police force and detained at the first sign of danger.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

I have no intentions of letting him get to that point.

[prosecutes]

I don't know how law enforcement worked in your world, but that's not how things will be done here. A strong suspicion is enough for a search warrant, and a search of the suspect's living quarters would most likely reveal the evidence necessary to have them put away.

If you're going to work for Somarium's police force, you must accommodate to the way it is run.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

I'm only here to protect people. If the way it's run works, then that's fine with me. But if I don't like it, then I'll leave.

[snapekillsedgar.livejournal.com]

[It was the same as with Glenn Baskerville...]

If we know she's dangerous, why are we waiting until she actually commits a crime again?! That's just as good as letting her get away with it.

[prosecutes]

To put it simply, we have no proof that she's committed any former crimes. Word-of-mouth is not a valid form of evidence.

[snapekillsedgar.livejournal.com]

Good point, but if she's a known criminal, doesn't that mean proof definitely exists? If you already know so much about the history of her crimes, then how is that not enough proof already that this woman is probably going to do something else?

[prosecutes]

Because then nothing would stop others from filing false claims of a similar nature.

[getinthetube.livejournal.com]

I'll keep a lookout for her.

[prosecutes]

Remember that her most powerful weapon is deceit. She will likely attempt to conceal the truth and mislead you if questioned, and will most certainly act innocent during a close observation.

Keep your distance.

[getinthetube.livejournal.com]

I understand, sir. It seems we should all proceed with caution.

[prosecutes]

I know this should go without saying, but please report any and all suspicious activity to either myself or Inspector Javert.

[getinthetube.livejournal.com]

I will.