Security Officer

New Players Portal

Return to Main Page

SECURITY

All Roles/Departments

Lore Portal

Security Officer

Superiors: Head of Security
Difficulty: Hard
Guides: Guide to Security, Space Law, Standard Operating Procedure, Riot Control
Access: Security, Brig Timers, Maintenance
Duties: Stop crime, enforce Space Law.

General

Service

Supply

Engineering

Medical

Science

Security

Legal

Command

Synthetics

Antagonist

Special

Security Department

Departmental Head
Head of Security

Security Roles

Head of Security •

Warden •

Detective •

Security Officer

Security Guides

Guide to Security •

Combat •

Identifying Antagonists •

Riot Control •

MODsuits •

Security Items •

Space Law •

Standard SOP •

Legal SOP •

Security SOP

Return to Security Portal

Security Officers is the workhorse position of the Security department. They are the station's first line of defense against criminal elements and hostile xenoforms. With their authority to enforce Space Law, it is the Security Officers who are responsible for dealing with security complaints and arresting those who break Space Law.

Required Knowledge

Out of Character wise: Read Rule 10 when it comes to playing as a member of Security.

In Character wise: Knowledge of Space Law is mandatory. You're not expected to memorize it entirely, but it should be open and consulted. Inadequate knowledge of it may result in a job ban.

You will need to be decently robust. Knowing how to use the various weapons is required. If in doubt, there is a practice range to try them on. Remember the stun baton will stun on help mode, and on harm will stun and beat them, which is generally highly illegal and grounds for a job ban. Unless if you really need to do it.

For Standard Operating Procedure for this role and other security roles, please see Standard Operating Procedure (Security).

Know Your Place

• This ship is not a democracy. You take orders from the Head of Security, who takes their orders from the Captain, who takes their orders from Central Command. Follow the orders you are provided, and try to not ask too many questions. Within the brig, you follow the Warden's directions.
• You are effectively the police. The corporations have agreed upon a set of laws that they are all beholden to. Space Law is harsh. You are individuals working for Nanotrasen Security. You aren't highly trained super-soldiers, but you also aren't mall-cops with a bit bigger guns. Obey the hierarchy and watch everyone with utter suspicion.
• Your essential job function is to prevent the station from falling apart in chaos.
• The Heads of Staff have authority over their respective departments. You are expected to assist heads in ejecting unwanted trespassers and demoting unwanted personnel from their departments.

Keeping the Peace

You are the sole guardian between the ideals of justice and the employees that your company has chosen to advance its interests in space.

Oftentimes, you will be informed over your radio that there is a problem in a certain area. If you are nearby, inform the rest of security over your headset using the private channel that you are on your way. If you are not nearby, head to the security office and change the records to set the suspects to arrest. The robots will detain the suspects but someone will still have to fetch them. Then return to your patrol.

Have your baton put away but easily accessed. This will ensure that you are armed if things go sour, but that you are not being threatening and there is no possibility of your weapon being easily stolen (remember that unless the security level is at Code Blue or Code Red, you won't be allowed to have weapons unholstered.) If you notice a crime obviously taking place when you arrive on the scene, stun the suspects, handcuff them, and hold them so they can't escape. If the area is now safe, begin questioning them. If the area is not safe, question them in Processing. If there is blood or fingerprint evidence, call the Detective to the scene. Once the truth comes out, charge the perpetrators, thank the witnesses, and inform security over your private channel of the situation and charges. If you do not do so, the Warden may release your prisoners thinking they've been unlawfully detained.

This is an ideal situation, however. Usually you'll just happen across crime. Follow the procedure as best as you can from there. Restrain and detain only as needed. Becoming stun happy is the first step to becoming a bad Security Officer and encouraging the station crewmen to get you demoted.

If things become violent or you are outmatched, immediately call for backup as efficiently as possible. "<Such and such> the <job title> is <crime committed> at <the location>", is hard to spit out while under attack. Try a shorter format, such as "JANITOR MAIN HALLWAY ATTACKING ME HELP". There will be time for clarification when you are out of harm's way. The key to good security work is keeping the other security forces informed.

The Brig

For more detailed instructions, see Standard Security Procedures. For a summary, read below.

As the arresting officer, you have certain responsibilities. As always, following the protocol will keep you safe, the station secure, and the criminals in line. Follow it closely.

1. While the prisoner is still handcuffed, search them. Repeat offenders or those charged with extremely serious crimes should be stripped and redressed in the prison orange. Inform the prisoner and the other security personnel what is happening, and what the prisoner's charges are. Evidence goes in the evidence locker, hazardous chemicals should be stored to later be spaced, and all other materials go in the brig locker with the prisoner. The headset should only be taken if the prisoner is using it to incite rebellion, harassing other crew members, or as an additional punishment for repeat offenses.

2. Lock the locker with your identification, remove your prisoner's handcuffs, and stand in the doorway to prevent escape while you set the time. The doors will not close and lock if a time has not been set in. Consult Space Law for proper sentencing. If the prisoner makes to escape, flash them with the brig's flash controls. They will even reach to just outside the cell doors. Remember that escape attempts are an additional crime under Space Law. Do NOT leave the prisoner handcuffed in their cell, unless you have very good reason to believe they are dangerous.

3. Never open the cell door when the prisoner is standing right on the other side. Require them to step back to the bed. This will allow you to react if they attack or attempt to escape. Even trustworthy prisoners may turn at any second. When in doubt, flash the cell.

4. You must be there when the prisoner's time is up to return their gear and escort them out of the brig. Failure to do this may in some cases result in your dismissal or attack.

Security HQ

This is where you do your set up at. Also, you can arrest people with Beepsky (or any securitron) here, but do not delete security records!. If people ask nicely for your equipment just tell them to ask a Head of Staff instead. Passing out gear to civilians leads to dangerous situations at worst, arrests and misunderstandings at best.

The first step when you arrive in your position is to find an unused security locker either in the main office or the single locker near the arrival shuttle. If it has all been claimed, ask the Warden for additional equipment.

Equipment

First, you are already equipped with a helmet, body armor and backpack/duffelbag/satchel, a handcuff, a taser gun and your red jumpsuit. If you wanna get these items (Which are listed down below), head to your respective locker and take a look inside, grab anything you need, leave anything if you don't. Some of these items can only be found in the Armory, and are left best for an Emergency Situation.

Stun Baton - Your weapon of choice. Put it in your Security belt or armor storage slot. Did you hear me? Put it on your goddamn belt or armor! Because you will slip on a wet floor and if you are carrying your baton, it will fall to the ground next to you. You will be completely vulnerable to your assailant. The security belt and armor slots give you precious seconds of safety and gives you a sliver of chance. If you want to stun the criminal, turn your baton on by using it in your hand! If you want to harm the criminal who's too dangerous for your crew (Shadowlings or Adrenal Traitors), go to Harm Intent and smack him right in the face. When the cell on your stick is dead, put it in the Recharger and wait.

Hybrid Taser - Place the taser in your backpack or on your armor storage slot. Replace your Baton with this in case you need the extra range and the AI/Captain/Head of Security/Warden refuse to open the armory for better equipment. It is also good to use against runners or those who are equipped with a gun themselves, but not good with anyone under the effects of adrenaline. Use your best judgement. It has two firing modes, that being Disable or Stun. Always put it to Stun unless if you want to catch your perps at longer range or when you want to shoot someone behind glass, because unlike electrodes disabler beams can pass through glass. You start with one on your character, unless if you need more from the Secure Armory.

Taclite - Tactical Flashlite or Taclite in short is your how you'll explore the deep tunnels of Maintenance, you're going to need this alot to stay out of the darkness. It would be better to attach it to your Hybrid Taser or your Energy Gun.

Flashes - A good backup if your stun baton runs out of charge or you need to keep a criminal subdued, or if you need to fight a Shadowling. Robotics may also want these. It's usually a courtesy to give them your burnt out flashes. Throw it in a pocket or in your security belt. Has the added benefit of stunning out of control cyborgs. You start with one of these on your person, inside your pocket or storage equipment, completely turns the screen white for people without protection, and also makes them drop what's in their hands, but won't down them, mounted flashers, on the other hand, do down people, also activating it in your hand makes an Area of Effect mini-stun that causes confusion, AKA. moving randomly for a moment or two, this is actually surprisingly robust for catching criminals who are running around randomly and you're unable to shoot them down effectively. (all of this considering they don't have eye protection, welding Helmets and goggles and some sunglasses -like SecHuds and the captain's- completely nullify their effect.)

Pepperspray - Downs opponents who are not wearing a gas mask AND eye protection, note that most eye wear counts as protection(Like prescription glasses), if wearing eye protection, when sprayed you suffer nothing, if wearing a gas mask but nothing on your eyes, your screen turns cloudy-white for a moment or two, good for handling down petty criminals who are not well-equipped.

Flashbang - Sometimes preferred by some officers instead of flashes. These will blind and deafen targets within a reasonable radius when thrown. To throw, simply move your active hand to the flashbang in your hand and activate it. This will put you into throw mode as soon as the grenade is primed. There is a small delay between throwing and detonation. It is a good idea to throw these as far away from you as possible as they will deafen and blind you if you are not wearing sunglasses and a security bowman headset. They will always down you (although won't blind or deafen you -if you have the protection mentioned above-) if they're on the same tile you're on, remember to actually throw them, as holding them WILL stun you. They are also useful to help you escape a small group of assailants, and to fend off or kill Shadowlings. Keep this in your pocket and click on the grenade to pull the pin. After a few seconds, it will explode, causing everyone who is looking at you without sunglasses to be affected by the blast, though it may deafen or blind you as well if you don't have the proper protection.

HUD Sunglasses - You need to equip these. Put them on your eyes. They are essential gear, especially if you want to man the brig and want to avoid the embarrassing result of succumbing to a flash meant only for an unruly prisoner. These particular sunglasses have the added benefit of listing a person's profession, arrest status/criminal status, and Mindshield Implant status when they are worn, in the form of icons around the person themselves.

Handcuffs/Zipties - Throw these in your pockets as well. You will use these. A lot. Click on someone to start handcuffing them. You'll both need to stay next to each other for them to work. Pulling people then prevents them from running away. Be careful of bumping into people however. If you start running out of handcuffs, then resort to Zipties, which exactly work like Handcuffs, but they're only a one time use and they can be broken quite more easily than handcuffs. When ran out of zipties, resort to Cable Cuffs, Handcuffs can be broken within a minute, Zipties can be broken within 0.75 of a minute, and cable cuffs can be broken in only half a minute, cuffing takes about three seconds, It could be of use to always baton/taser your perps before starting the cuffing process.

Here are the following equipment that can be found in the Secure Armory.

Energy Gun - A rare item for the average officer to possess, usually only handed out by the Warden when things have really hit the fan. Has two modes, click the weapon in your inventory to switch between disable and kill. Most of the time, the weapon should be left on disable. It also makes a potent melee weapon. Firing on crew members without confirming they are hostile while on kill mode will often result in demotion or a potential job ban. Attach a Seclite into it so you can see through darkness.

Riot Shield - Another uncommon weapon for security personnel. Protects from melee attack in the direction you are facing. Makes a decent melee weapon, has a 50% chance of negating damage -melee and projectiles- can't fit in backpacks or on your back, very awkward but still robust.

Laser Gun - Possibly the least common weapon to find in the hands of Security Officers aside from the Riot Shotgun, mainly due to the lack of a stun mode. While more powerful than an Energy gun (Shoots 12 laser shots instead of the Energy gun's puny 10), it makes a slightly less effective melee weapon. You should never have these unless it's a Code Red situation.

Riot Shotgun - Another less common weapon found in the hands of Security Officers, usually used only in times of extreme emergency, such as Nuclear Agents declaring war on the station. They can fire a wide variety of shells, from Rubber Shots that do stamina damage, to Lethal Buckshot and Slug Shells, to all kinds of Technological Shells created by Science.

Ion Rifle - Found out that your IPC was a traitor or your own Borgs getting rogue left and right? This weapon is used by officers during these situations. While they are completely useless to biological beings. IPCs, Borgs and the AI on the other hand will take the heat once they felt the Ion touch. Remember NOT to use these weapons unless if it's a Silicon related situation.

Various body armor and helmets - See this for more information.

Important: When you are done with your locker, close it and lock it to prevent unruly thieves from taking the remaining items inside. If they somehow enter there.

Recharge

Always have your tools recharged after an arrest. If your flash is burnt out, get a new one from the lockers or security vending machine and hand your old one to a Roboticist. Then take your baton or taser, pop them in the recharger, and wait for the light to change. Having a charged stun baton is sometimes the difference between life and death.

Antagging

Nanotrasen Security Officers are ineligible for antag selection at the start of the round due to extensive screening by Central Command and possessing a Mindshield Implant, with the exception of Blob. Blob security players can be absolutely devastating due to the fact that they have access to hard to reach areas (such as permabrig), giving them ample time to expand before they've been spotted.

While the presence of a mindshield implant does provide some protection against being thralled by a Shadowling, it is only a mitigating factor in the enthrallment process - adding an additional twenty to thirty seconds to the enthralling. A security officer who somehow manages to lose their mindshield implant (such as by being thralled, cloned, or having it surgically removed by an antagonist) can still be culted, converted into a revolutionary, or even mindslaved.

Officers who have been converted to an antagonist role are particularly dangerous due to their access, and the ease with which they can obtain a variety of stun-related equipment.

Tips and Tricks

• There are a few different types of armor and helmets that security is in possession of, all with their own pros and cons.
  • Riot Gear is great for absorbing melee damage but won't do much of anything to protect you against bullets or lasers, also it has much greater coverage. Though it slows you down as a cost. Great for claymore toting cultists.
  • Bullet Proof Vests and Bullet Proof Helmets - as the name implies, absorbs damage caused by bullets at the cost of melee and laser protection as well as having lesser coverage. Very useful when Nuclear Operatives go in guns blazing.
  • The Ablative Armor is great at absorbing energy based damage such as the Laser gun and even has a chance to deflect energy based projectiles. Though you shouldn't be using it as much in most situations, except when you're at risk of friendly fire or very rare circumstances.
  • Finally, your standard-issued Armor Vest and Helmet you start with is a jack of all trades type, absorbing every damage by a minimal amount, except bullets, which it absorbs lower than the rest.
• Mindshield implants prevent someone from being brainwashed into a Cult member or a Revolutionary and also increase the duration slightly for a shadowling to thrall you which will give you a bit of time to state your location and circumstance.
  • Keep in mind that if you are cloned you lose your mindshield implant which might cause your fellow officers to attack you during shadowling rounds as getting thralled destroys your mindshield implant.
• Once you are a Gygax or Durand combat mech you are a god among men, as long as you know your limits and not run right in the middle of a xenomorph hive. The Gygax is a straight upgrade for a security officer during Traitor, Changeling, Cult and Shadowling rounds due to their exceptional speed. However when dealing with biohazards such as Terror Spiders or Xenomorphs a Durand is preferable due to its high durability. It is made to go into a hive and destroy everything.
• Xenomorphs and Terror Spiders take double burn damage, laser gun them or set them on fire with the immolator gun that science can research.
• Riot shields have a good chance to block melee attacks in the direction you are facing and can also block xenomorph pounces along with their disarms. Take one, it's underrated. Couple it with riot armor to be very hard to kill in melee.
• If you need a patrolling partner just pick up your PDA and call Officer Beepsky (Or any securitron) to you. Disable his patrol mode and take him with you. If someone fucks with you just shift+click - set to arrest and he'll ensure you never get robusted again. Just make sure that the person robusting you is not Unknown, it won't work unless if you find a way (Such as making that unknown attack Beepsky).
• As a security officer asking a criminal to kindly come with you to the brig instead of stunning them outright doesn't hurt. You'd be surprised at how some criminals can be responsive to this. It'll save you the hassle of "HELP SHITCURITY ARRESTING ME FOR NO REASON" and you can always just tase them if they refuse. Be aware that suspicious people will get the upper hand on you, once you're off-guard.
• Getting EMP'd (Or Ion'd) means your energy based weapons will most likely be utterly dry and will have to be recharged to be used again. But keep in mind that your stun baton is the exception and loses only 10% of its charge when it is hit by an EMP so pull it out when you see a traitor or changeling run at you after they have EMP'd you.
• Now if you hate the sound of your jackboots, you have two choices, wear black shoes or apply duct tape to your jackboots. This will silence the noise of the boots, allowing quiet movement.

Roles on Paradise Station