Police and the law

The NCPD works out of three precincts: Little China, The Glen and Arroyo. This page covers what every resident needs to know, not just officers. How the faction itself works is described on the NCPD page.

#Handcuffs

An officer cuffs you through the G menu instantly, without your consent. You have to be on your feet and not in a vehicle.

While cuffed, you can't:

• draw a weapon, shoot or fight;
• use your inventory, places (E), the bank, your home or your phone;
• get into a car yourself, or get out of one you've been put in;
• hand over money, show your ID or take a seat at a barber's;
• call the police or the medics: the /911 and /ems chat commands don't work either;
• work: start a shift, take orders, call a taxi or accept a mechanic's repair (ending a shift works);
• go on duty or talk on the radio.

You can talk and write in chat. You can't run, jump or drive, only walk: if you move faster, the server puts you back.

While you're cuffed, nobody can hurt you: shots, blows, blasts and rams don't count, and a fall or fire leaves you at least 1 health. If you still go down (from hunger, say), you come to at the hospital in the same cuffs and with the same wanted level, and the police on duty get a call: “A suspect in cuffs is at the hospital”.

Neither leaving the game nor the hospital takes the cuffs off. An officer removes them, and they also come off when you're put in a cell. If you leave the game in handcuffs, next time you appear right where you left, not at home or at the city's spawn.

#Escorting and cars

• An officer can lead you: your character follows them on its own, and your movement keys don't work. If you fall more than 3.8 m behind, the server pulls you back to the officer.
• An officer can put you in a car, back seats first. You can't get out by yourself, and the driver can't let you out either: only an officer can.
• If someone who isn't an officer put you in a car while you're cuffed, the driver or the car's owner can let you out, and with nobody at the wheel you can get out yourself: the screen says “in a car: you may get out”.
• In a police car, in a seat an officer put you in, or with someone at the wheel, you can't get out by yourself: the car menu's “Get out” button is grey, and its hint says “Cuffed, you can't get out: an officer takes you out”.

#Fines

• A fine is written instantly, without your consent, with a reason. The maximum is 50,000 €$.
• A fine clears your wanted level if the officer who wrote it has the Wanted permission.
• You can pay a fine on the “Character” tab of the main window (the “Fines” card) or in your phone's Emergency app (911). You need the full amount: your cash is used first, then your bank account.
• You can also pay a fine at a bank on the “Payments” tab or in the “Bank” app: that way it's paid in full from the account.
• Unpaid fines stay in your history until they're paid. The /fines command lists them.
• Money from fines goes to the City Hall treasury. A fine a new character pays in their first 120 minutes of play goes to the city instead.
• One officer can give one player at most three fines in 10 minutes.

#Jail

• Only a cuffed person can be jailed, in a cell of the precinct nearest the officer. The officer sets the sentence: up to 60 minutes.
• In the cell, the cuffs come off and your wanted level is reset.
• Your sentence only counts down while you're in the city. If you leave the game, you'll be back in the same cell with the same time left the next time you join.
• You can't go more than 7 m from your cell: the server brings you back.
• In jail you can't draw weapons, use places, the bank or your home, call your car, work, call the police or the medics, go on duty or talk on the radio. You can still pay fines.
• Nobody can hurt you in a cell: shots and blows at prisoners don't count.
• When your time is up, you walk out at the door of the precinct where you served it. An officer with the Arrest permission can also let you out early, but only if an officer put you there: someone jailed by the administration is let out only by the administration.

#Wanted level

Officers can put a character on the wanted list with 1 to 5 stars and a reason. Only officers on duty see the wanted list, and you aren't told you're on it. A wanted level is cleared by hand, by jail time or by a fine from an officer with the Wanted permission.

#Trunk searches

An officer on duty can search the trunk of a player's locked car and confiscate items, but only with grounds: the owner is near, within 30 m of the car, or wanted. Without grounds the game says “No grounds for a search: the owner must be within 30 m or wanted”. What's confiscated goes to their service's stash, not into their pockets. The owner is notified of the search and of each item taken. Nothing can be confiscated from a new character's trunk during their first 120 minutes of play. The police can't search a person.

#Calling the police

• You can't call the police without a phone. The /911 message chat command works too, but you still need a phone.
• You can call once a minute. A new call replaces your previous one.
• If no officers are on duty, your call waits in the list for up to 30 minutes.
• False calls are punished: see rule 9.1.

#Gun license

A gun license is sold at NCPD precincts for 5,000 €$. The server only checks it when you buy weapons, ammo, a heavy vest or silencers. More in License and buying.