Basically, looking to write some content about a guy that decides to become a 100% realistic vigilante, and looking to see what your thoughts are on things to consider. Some points that I'm currently struggling on: 1. The city to do it (I guess, which big cities have the most lax anti-vigilante laws), 2. How a vigilante would escape from police helicopters, should he be caught 3. What weaponry he would use (you need something that can incapacitate bad guys with guns, but using guns is a quick way to get murder/attempted murder/assault with a deadly weapon charges, and with the high probability of getting caught, you'd obviously want to avoid a lot of jail time. Thought about non-lethal gun rounds, but not sure I'd trust my life on them, and I feel like they'd be highly-regulated, and you'd be easily tracked down. Thought about less-lethal arrows, but not sure how effective they'd be, and I feel like it'd be hard to hit multiple moving targets in close quarters, even if you were skilled. --- Any other huge issues you guys could think of?
No costumes, fully functional clothing that fits properly - not too tight not too loose. What kind of living situation is he in - does he have the finances to buy all sorts of weapons or does he just have to use bats and kitchen knives/ whatever is at hand? Why is he a vigilante - is the police force incompetent/corrupt enough to warrant the need for a vigilante or is it just in his mind that he's needed? If it's all about justice, why choose vigilantism over joining the police force? Escaping helicopters would depend on if it's day or night and how high tech the police are, the higher tech they use, the harder it is to escape. From the limited 'Cops' reality shows I've watched, most bad guys who escaped did so by running into highly populated areas/into buildings and blending in, and the helicopters night vision was awful (one escaped because the helicopter ran out of fuel and had to return to base). Anything out of the ordinary will be noticed by a helicopter and they zoom in on that. Weapons - what is his motive, to incapacitate/not kill, or lethal? If he is strictly non lethal he might use tasers, less risk of accidentally killing someone like with a gun or knife. Although deaths have been recorded with tasers due to heart issues. Is he a skilled fighter? If so, maybe he doesn't need weapons in general, just use fists.
Basically a guy trying to get justice on people that the cops/courts won't touch, like corrupt politicians, CEOs, etc., and also just any criminal he comes across, like big drug dealers. Average salary. Not broke, but not having millions of dollars. Hmm. I was thinking you wouldn't want to risk running, since they have cars, other officers that can cut you off, etc. Was thinking a street bike, since they can maneuver easily and are fast to accelerate around corners. But I'd still be worried, given helicopters are faster. Incapacitate. Doesn't want to catch a murder charge. Thought about tasers, but limited range, not very effective on big guys/guys with thick clothes, and would get killed quickly with a gun. And yes, skilled fighter.
Yes, the vigilante would have to worry about ground patrol as well as helicopters. The helicopters job is to guide the ground units to the target, and if they have high tech tracking systems, your vigilantes best bet would be ducking into a large building such as a mall or other highly populated building where he can get lost in a crowd. If your city is large enough to have a subway system then that would also be good, same concept, get lost in a sea of people, where a helicopter can't track. But then, he has to worry about CCTV cameras, which can also track people very well, same concept as the helicopter, but can track inside as well as outside. This would just depend on how high tech you want your city to be. If he's after corrupt politicians and CEO's, he won't need to worry much about weapons if he's sneaking into offices and looking for evidence in computers or desks, just has to know how to evade security guards. If he does his research before infiltrating buildings, he'll know their routines and where cameras are. With drug dealers and criminals of that ilk, it would be different, and he may have to end up carrying a gun (handgun, nothing larger because it'd be too conspicuous and difficult to hide in a hurry if need be) because those types won't hesitate to kill. But, if he's skilled in hiding, evasion, and camouflaging tactics, he wouldn't have to resort to violence too much.
Well, if the vigilante is "realistic," I would start by researching real vigilantes. If you can't find any of those that fit the bill, then I suppose realistic ones don't exist and you can let the glorious embellishing nature of fiction do the work for you!
Vigilantes in the pulp/comic book sense of lone individuals who prowl the streets and use (nonlethal) martial skill to fight crime are pretty rare in real life. I've only found one real person who fits that mold: the "Bromley Batman" https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11800205/Bromley-Batman-pops-up-in-Cornwall-to-save-man-from-attack.html I believe I brought him up in a previous thread you made about vigilantism. Most real life vigilantes tend to be part of groups that are basically masked militias, and those that aren't usually have no qualms about just shooting their targets. "Getting justice" on people like these is gonna be hard using nonlethal vigilantism. Other than stopping a crime in progress and executing a citizen's arrest, most vigilante activity is illegal. Realistically, a decent lawyer could probably get most of the evidence your character collects tossed out, so their clients would avoid prison. Posting his findings on the Internet might destroy the reputations of corrupt politicians/executives and make them lose their jobs, but they'd still be running free. And a thorough beating might make a street criminal think twice about his career choice, but it won't protect the public from them long term. So I'd say think carefully about what this character considers "getting justice". Turning to weapons, I'd consider stuff like escrima sticks (a decent way to counter knives), pepperball guns (for a nonlethal ranged weapon) or a can of bear mace. Depending on his skill set or connections, some sort of smoke or flash bang grenades might be doable. That said, I think taking out gunmen will hinge more on the sort of tactics your character employs rather than any special weapon. You might also consider a place where criminals rarely have access to guns.
There are a few, but they don't do much. It's how they keep a good relationship with the police. I don't want that. I want a guy that takes "justice" into his own hands in a 100% realistic way.
Agreed on all points. I guess my vigilante's thing would be similar to Arrow's: come once to warn/scare them. If they continue, that's when you use lethal methods. The whole thing where Arrow just delivers them to the cops isn't realistic. As you said, all of that evidence would be thrown out.
Well, it'd be in NYC or LA, or a big city like that, so I'm assuming pretty good technology. Only problem with big malls is that my vigilante would be a night prowler, so no big, populated areas. Never during the day.
realistic vigilantes tend to be thinks like the paedophile hunter sting groups ... real vigilantes don't tend to go up against crime lords and drug dealers because thats a good way to get killed (rogue cops probably happen from time to time - vis the west midland crime squad in the 70s who fitted up any number of people who needed it, and several dozen who were actually innocent )
Watch Dogs is about a vigilante, I think it's pretty realistically portrayed. That may be a good source to look at, or like bounty hunters or something
Question: 1. How are you going to get evidence? Evidence means going in to get things. Which means exposure. Which may mean bad things. 2. How's he going to be sure he's got the right one. Maybe this guy's the murderer. But the police says that he's got a solid alibi. Is the police lying, are the witnesses lying, or is the vigilante wrong this time? Remember. He's just one (ordinary) man. He doesn't have the resources to be as good as the police.
Some people leave drugs mixed with rat poison on their livingroom table in case of burglars. The thief will either get killed by using it or killed by selling bad shit to customers.
