For millions of Mega-City One’s citizens there can be no greater symbol of the law than Judge Joe Dredd, not even the Statue of Judgement itself. The mere mention of his name is enough to give even the most hardened criminals pause. Dredd has been appointed a temporary member of the Council of Five on several occasions. However, he is only truly content when patrolling the streets dispensing the law directly and his well-known dislike of bureaucracy keeps him well away from the Hall of Justice. If it is true that a man can be measured by the quality of his enemies then Dredd will take some beating. Over the years, he has clashed with mad Chief Judges, transdimensional denizens of Deadworld, super agents of the Sov Bloc, necromancers and powerful mutant pre-cogs. Yet it’s probably safe to say that from Dredd’s perspective bringing one of these individuals to justice is no more important than the prosecution of a citizen for littering or a juve for spraying graffiti on a wall. Everyone is equal in the eyes of the law!

To the average Mega-City One inhabitant, the most obvious symbol of the power and authority of the Justice Department is the Street Judge. These formidable individuals are responsible for the strict enforcement of the law on the dangerous streets of the ‘Big Meg', where they act as judge, jury and executioner. Crimes ranging from littering to first-degree murder fall within their remit and the punishments of a perpetrator can vary from a stern word of admonition, a crack on the head with a daystick, to imprisonment in an isolation cube or, in the most serious cases, a Lawgiver execution round. Becoming a Judge is a lifelong undertaking and many individuals falter on the arduous path. Some end up on the streets disenchanted and bitter at what might have been whilst for many Street Judges Resyk will be their final destination.