The Public Surveillance Unit or PSU is a fictional institution in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. It was introduced in progs (issues) 954 and 959 (1995). 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 was also a recurring character and a rival of Dredd.
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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.
In 2134, the terrorist group Total War destroyed the Statue of Judgement in a missile attack, wiping out most of the unit and disabling its functions. Justice Department had grown too reliant on PSU by this point: the sudden loss of it meant they were crippled in the pursuit of a Soviet plot and that criminals in every sector ran amok. A senior judge went as far as to say "we might as well pack up and hand the city over the Sovs". The remnants of PSU were merged into the new Undercover Operations Division.