Updated post to better reflect the scope of the problems.

Ref #5202 also deals with the "Police apathy" problem.

Hitting a police or civilian ship with a weapon or torpedo while police are in the vicinity should be the only way to trigger a piracy charge

I don't think this is the best solution, as it would remove the "unlawful weapon discharge" crime charge, which should still be there, especially near cities/spacestations. Instead it can be removed when there is a pirate nearby.

I don't think this is the best solution, as it would remove the "unlawful weapon discharge" crime charge, which should still be there, especially near cities/spacestations. Instead it can be removed when there is a pirate nearby.

I agree that near cities and space stations "unlawful weapon discharge" should still be a thing but you should be able to do whatever you want in interplanetary space as long as you don't hit the wrong thing while the police are in range.

I agree that near cities and space stations "unlawful weapon discharge" should still be a thing but you should be able to do whatever you want in interplanetary space as long as you don't hit the wrong thing while the police are in range.

Of course.
But what if the pirate is near a city/space station? I think in that case if you're shooting in the direction of the pirate you shouldn't get the piracy charge.