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Overview
This page aims to provide a general overview of the procedures and guidelines that members of the Leonida Regional Police Service adhere to and follow. Please note that this page intends only to provide a brief overview for simplicity. For complete information about our guidelines and procedures, please see our Standard Operating Procedures article.
Summary
While on active duty, members of the Leonida Regional Police Service patrol the map and respond to calls as they come in. Calls can be received through various channels, such as the kill-feed (notifications that appear when a player is killed by another player), direct phone calls, text messages, emails, or private messages from victims or witnesses. Our personnel regularly monitor kill-feeds.
Prioritizing, Responding, and Assessing Call Responses
Members of our police service will prioritize each call based on several factors, including the severity and frequency of the crime or violation, available resources, other miscellaneous factors, such as distance between the nearest officer and the incident, especially when resources are scarce. For instance, if multiple players are on a killing spree and only one officer is currently available, the officer may prioritize the nearest call and respond accordingly.
Upon arriving near the scene, officers will assess the situation before taking any action:
- Are the parties involved actually being griefed? If so, the police will move in to arrest the griefer.
- Are the parties involved playing together and killing each other playfully or training? In this case, the police will dismiss the call and move on.
In some instances, police personnel may not need to physically respond to a call. For example, if officers witness a conversation in in-game chats where one player is committing acts of sexual exploitation against another party that is clearly a minor, the police will automatically cite the offender without taking any physical action.
Given the variety of potential calls and violations, procedures can differ. Our Laws and Violations page outlines the laws we enforce and, in some cases, the procedures for handling specific violations.
Arrests
Due to the fast-paced nature of Grand Theft Auto Online, the "method" we use to arrest a player is verbatim with the "method" used by the in-game AI-police in GTA Online: the player is killed. Once an offending player is killed, they are considered to have been "arrested" and released. There is no procedure in-place for jailing a player; instead they are effectively immediately released after being arrested, in hopes that further arrests will deter contemptible behavior.
Citations
Citations are generally written for players when no physical action is able to be taken for one reason or another. For example, if a person escapes, by leaving the session or hiding in their trailer/apartment/house/office/etc, they will be written a citation and no physical action will be taken in-game. Another case where this is common is with cheaters. If someone is unable to be killed due to the use of cheats or exploits, they will be written a citation and no physical action will be taken in-game.
Incident Reports
Incident reports are generally filed when something occurred but no one was able to be arrested or cited for the incident. For example, if a player who was transporting goods for their business was griefed and/or killed by a cheater but it isn't known who the cheater is, this incident could be reported to police by the victim and they would file is as an incident report, notating the players in the session at the time of the incident along with any potential statements or evidence they would be able to collect from witnesses or other investigations. Over the course of time, detectives would be able to look through such incidents and attempt to investigate as they are able to. In some cases, the perpetrator may be found and if the opportunity arises, the victim be made aware. If the victim wishes, police can attempt to arrest the perpetrator based on the wishes of the victim.
Warrants
For more serious crimes and incidents where a perpetrator escapes, police may file a warrant for the perpetrator's arrest. This is similar to a bounty in GTA Online, only it is only known internally to police personnel who will be authorized to arrest on-sight.
Reporting Procedures
Every member of the Leonida Regional Police Service file reports for the calls they respond to throughout their patrol sessions. Reports they file are typically either an arrest record, citation, incident report, or warrant. Note that these are internal department reports, and have nothing to do with the in-game reporting system.
Reports are regularly reviewed by supervisors for accuracy and legitimacy. Once filed, reports are kept permanently on-file with our internal police database. Due to the fast-paced nature of the game, police personnel will often take preliminary notes on a scratch-pad, memo-pad, or trooper scratchpad while on-scene or immediately after leaving the scene of a call, and use their notes to submit a full report later on during their patrol session, or in some circumstances, another day.
All reports filed by police include the name(s) of any players involved, as well as their User ID which is recorded as their License ID for easy identification, even if players change their names in the future.
Important Notes Regarding Our Services
Given the nature of the video-game setting, there are notable differences and aspects worth mentioning that diverge from real-life, which have raised concerns or curiosity among some individuals.
Public Databases and Statistics
In our ongoing commitment to public safety, certain areas of our site may feature recent statistics on arrests, citations, and more. We also maintain a dedicated Sex Offender Registry, which is automatically updated whenever players are caught engaging in activities such as rape, incest, and offenses involving children and sex. Unlike traditional sex offender registries, which require offenders to self-register, our registry is updated in real-time following any arrest or citation, ensuring the public has access to the most current information.
Arrests and Citations
As we operate within a video game, there is no judicial process wherein a judge reviews each case to decide on convictions or dismissals. An in-game arrest involves killing a player, and this action cannot be undone. Consequently, it is impossible to physically "undo" an arrest. Unfortunately, as in real life, mistakes can occur, and innocent players may be arrested. Such incidents may result from false reports by witnesses or officer negligence during firearm discharge, among other reasons.
While we do not excuse these mistakes, it is important to remember that errors are inevitable in any endeavor involving human judgment, particularly in scenarios requiring split-second decisions, as is often the case in police work. That said, arrests and citations made in error are generally not filed, or they are voided if already filed by the time the error is recognized. Our public information databases, including the Sex Offender Registry, will not display voided arrests or citations.
Inquiries
Anyone who wishes to make any inquiries regarding our records, such as an arrest or citation that we have made, to either express concern or contest charges may do so by filing a Records Inquisition Request.