Dealing with the Fuzz Options

[imperialus]

Just figured I'd post few of my ideas that my Shadowrunners have used as interesting and creative ways of non-violently dealing with Lone Star. Thought it might serve as a repository for different ideas people have to get away from the cops without it turning into a shootout.

Say you get pulled over. Doesn't really matter why, but you are chock full of illegal ware and your car alone could get you arrested.

When this happened to one of my PC's I waited till the cop came over, rolled down the window and handed him 1000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) cash when he asked for my ID. Said "Hello officer. I'm sorry but there must me a mistake. Why don't you get on the radio and tell your station that you made an error? I'm going to drive away now. I suggest you let me do so. Take your wife and kids out to dinner on me. Otherwise this lovely evening is going to end very badly for both of us, and probably worse for you."

Of course that was in 3rd ed. In 4th you could just do the whole thing wirelessly before he even pulls you over.

[kzt]

It's a reasonable approach. The drawback is that you, as a character, don't know how well it worked until a few minutes later.

You certainly DON'T want to do a credit transfer. Records are kept of these and the LS guy isn't dumb.

[Kyoto Kid]

... imperialus, I like your way of thinking. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[CanRay]

You know, that's the one thing I lament about the Wireless thing. You can't just fold a $50 in your Driver's License, and pass it to the cop. Or "Accidentily" hand over a Certified CredStick rather than your Registered CredStick, like in the above issue.

The advantage of the Wireless issue is that Lazy Cops can just pull someone over, demand the License and Registration, and tell a person their taillight is out without getting out into the rain and seeing the guy in the car.

[imperialus]

It's a reasonable approach. The drawback is that you, as a character, don't know how well it worked until a few minutes later.

You certainly DON'T want to do a credit transfer. Records are kept of these and the LS guy isn't dumb.

Well it's been my experience that GM's are usually thrilled when PC's come up with smart ways to get out of situations without bloodshed. It saves killing a bunch of PC's and stating up a bunch of Lone Star goons to take them down.

Another one we did in 4th ed was when we got pulled over our Face distracted the cops while I hacked their vehicle radio and sent an officer down message in the middle of Redmond. Then we went home and watched that on the news.

[Ice Hammer]

Despite the corruption that is inherent in LS, there is always a possibility that the cop will be an idealist (or a rookie) and play it by the book and bust you for bribery. If the illegal goods are sufficiently hidden from clear sight, than the cop should have no reason to start looking for them unless you give him a reason. Bribing the cop unnecessarily will be sufficient casuse to have your car searched. Easiest way to avoid confrontation is not give up more information than necessary, don't look like you're hiding anything, and try to talk you way out with just a ticket. And of course, there's no guarantee that it'll just be one cop. I would imagine in 2070 it would be standard operating procedure that each patrol cruiser would have two cops in it. If the reason the character got pulled over becuase he was riding around in a stolen car, than it would be pretty hard for LS cops to simply ignore that fact.

[imperialus]

well success does depend on how competent/corruptible your GM plays the cops. That discussion has been hashed out over and over again on DS. It isn't going to work for every group and besides, if he tries to bust you for bribery thats when you punch him in the face with your handrazors extended and speed away. It also depends on what you think you're getting pulled over for. If you genuinely can't think of anything illegal you've done then just hand him your rating 6 SIN that has the car registered to it and pay your speeding ticket or whatever the next day. This is more if you have cause to believe he will want to search your car anyhow.

[CanRay]

Except for Manpower Issues. Don't forget that the Cops were Outsorced to be "Cheaper", you pay for that in some other way.

And it's not like they could just hire a bunch of people in India to work Police Services over the Matrix.

Of course, by 2070, it'd be more likely Indians cursing at all these UCASers and CASers with thick accents tryinig to walk them through Tech Support. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[kzt]

besides, if he tries to bust you for bribery thats when you punch him in the face with your handrazors extended and speed away.

The LS guy isn't stupid. You've just suggested you intend to go to guns. If he chooses to not take the bribe and go away he's going to take the money and call for backup if he's smart. If he's not so smart he's still going to move such that you can't easily attack him before he does anything else.

[Wounded Ronin]

I think the solution is to have eyebeams.

"Hello officer, here's my..."

KRAZAAAP

[WeaverMount]

Actually the using wireless to avoid personal contact would likely be a very common practice. Firstly out of laziness, secondly out of not risking LOS with a magician.

or cybereyes with 15 of 16 capacity given over to grenade launchers >_<

[Wounded Ronin]

From: GHermann//UNATCO.15431.76513
To: JManderley//UNATCO.00013.76490
Cc: ANavarre//UNATCO.9954.1131
Subject: Skul-gun

Might I sugest agin, a skul-gun for my head. Yesterday in Batery Park, some
scum we all know pushes smack for NSF gets jumpy and draws. I take 2 .22's,
1 in flesh, 1 in augs, befor I can get out that dam asalt gun.

If I could kil just by thought, it would be beter. Is it my job to be a
human target-practis backstop?

Gunther Hermann



http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/deusex/show...&pid=250533

[CanRay]

Actually the using wireless to avoid personal contact would likely be a very common practice. Firstly out of laziness, secondly out of not risking LOS with a magician.

or cybereyes with 15 of 16 capacity given over to grenade launchers >_<

"I need to see your identification."

*Waves Hand* "You don't need to see my identification."

"I don't need to see your identification."

*Waves Hand* "We can go about our business."

"You can go about your business."

*Waves Hand* "Move along."

"Move along. Move along."

[WeaverMount]

cliched, but I bet it happens. I could see 1 in a 10,000 people knowing that spell and a most of them doing things that would get them pulled over because they know it wont matter.

[CanRay]

Cliched, hell. Jedi is a legit religion in England (Enough people put it on their census!), and I can see it as an actual practice of Magic in Shadowrun!

Rare, but it's there.

[WeaverMount]

I know I'm poaching the idea from someone else here, but there is bound to be a "The Force" tradition out there somewhere for the simple reason that magic works because you want it to in this world. And some nerd out there wants it that bad

[CanRay]

And has probably been working on a "Lightsabre" spell for a long, long time...

[hyzmarca]

Repeat after me: "No sir, you may not search my vehicle." "No sir, you may not search my bag."

"You may not search my X", where X is an item that the officer has requested permission to search or is attempting to search without a warrant, is the single most important phrase you can utter to a police officer. It is your Constitutional right to refuse to allow a search of your personal belongings. It is one that you should always exercise even if you have nothing to hide simply because it is a fundamental aspect of human freedom that should never be treated cheaply or taken for granted. And, more importantly, it should always be exercised because there are illegal drugs in your vehicle and in your bag. I have seen enough episodes of Cops to know this to be a fact. There are illegal drugs in your bag and in your vehicle. You don't know that they are there, but they are.

String theory posits many dimensions in addition to the four that we are aware of but we cannot interact with these dimensions because they're all rolled up into tinny little spool too small to detect. One of these extra dimensions exists in your washing machine or in your dryer. It is where all your left socks go when they mysteriously vanish on laundry day. Another of these dimensions exists in your bag or in your car. It is filled with illegal drugs. On occasion, it will open up just a little and some of these drugs will spill out. If you let a police officer search your vehicle or your bag then those mysterious drugs that you are completely unaware of will be found and it will be assumed that they are yours and then you end up going to prison for possessing drugs that just fell out of another dimension without your knowledge. So never ever ever give permission to search.

This holds true in Shadowrun as it does in real life. The best police when pulled over by the police is to act calm and deny permission to search because if you deny such permission then they can't search. Record this denial on your cyberears if possible because you may have no choice but to use it in court if that denial is ignored.

Needless to say, bribe is an evil dirty word. What you want are "tips" (or "gratuities") and "fines". If you are aware of a crime in progress and wish a specific police officer to do something about it then you give him a gratuity for his trouble. Generally, the amount of this gratuity depends on how important it is to you that the crime be stopped. If you wish for an officer to avoid patrolling in an area for whatever reason, then you also give him a gratuity for his trouble. The amount of this gratutity depends on how imporant it is to you that no one patrol in that area. If an officer pulls you over and finds illegal weapons weapons on your person then you calmly ask "how much is my fine". The officer will then give you a figure. This figure will be substantially less than you are willing to pay unless you are a total moron. You pay it and go on your way and the officer forgets to file the paperwork. It is as simple as that. If the officer asks you if you have any illegal weapons or items you respond honestly because he is permitted to search you for weapons and will be angry about being lied to (which will probably raise the fine quite a bit) but you don't give him specifics about which weapons you have unless specifics are asked for.

[DocTaotsu]

Of course with GloWands running a paltry 60 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) and having wireless inter connectivity I'd imagine that the previous mentioned "Non Force Jedi Mind Trick" is still going to be better.

"These are not the runners you are looking for"
"These ar-"
*GloWand around neck begins to... glow and beep insistently*
>>>CENTRAL BREAK IN: OFFICER DEMETREK YOU ARE CURRENTLY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF UNAUTHORIZED MAGIC. BACK UP IN ENROUTE. ATTEMPT TO RESIST ANY MAGICAL INFLUENCE>>>
*Officer Demetrek smiles lightly and reaches for his Thunderbolt*

[sunnyside]

First I think the initial idea is a good one. And it could come up.

Remember first and foremost LS is a corp. Their job is to

1. Make money
2. Keep the public happy enough so they get their contract renewed.

Actually enforcing the law would be probalby be priority number ten or something. I just comes up when following priority 2.

This means they will be prone to stopping people based on just not liking how they look, especially if you look out of place and are getting into AAA zones.

But an officer isn't likely to get a commendation for starting a firefight downtown. If you're willing to play ball, aren't really wanted for something LS cares about(see noteriety section), and don't seem to be about to cause trouble they're probably fairly willign to let it slide.


Secondly simply saying they can't search you is likely to go over poorly. At the least they my fire up the old chemsniffer. But at the least assume you are being followed.

Again their response would depend on where you're going. If you give that answer driving between low rated areas they might just let it slide as not worth the bother. If you're trying to drive into a high rated zone they may resort to something else. At the least they can spend the nuyen to run your ID through a better checker. Beyond they the system could have a "glitch" that day, and whoop according to them your licence is expired. Looks like you'll have to go down to the station.

[Critias]

So, uhh, I guess all you guys that are big fans of bribery and threatening officers have decided law enforcement doesn't have dash-cams in every car?

[sunnyside]

So, uhh, I guess all you guys that are big fans of bribery and threatening officers have decided law enforcement doesn't have dash-cams in every car?

That's why you do it sneaky style. As opposed to pulling a gun and pointing it at them.

And actually probably the best and first move, if you think your ID will hold up against a basic check, is just to be really friendly and polite, indicate that you must have made a wrong turn and will be heading away from the AAA area and then just pay the fine when you get it.

All this other stuff would be for if you're worried about getting caught, or functionally are good as caught, or if the officer seems intent on a search etc.

[Critias]

I'm just saying, even if the cop likes a thousand nuyen enough to let the death threat slide, is:

"Hello officer. I'm sorry but there must me a mistake. Why don't you get on the radio and tell your station that you made an error? I'm going to drive away now. I suggest you let me do so. Take your wife and kids out to dinner on me. Otherwise this lovely evening is going to end very badly for both of us, and probably worse for you."

really something you want to be saying out loud, knowing there are cameras and microphones pointed at you (and you/your SIN/your fake SIN with the car on it has already been pulled up, as SOP for being pulled over in the first place)?

Given the level of technology available, I certainly don't see dash-cams going away, or getting worse, in the next sixty-plus years.

And, aside from that, cops are trained (and I imagine this trend would strengthen, if anything) to always, always, be in control of the situation. What makes you think your average traffic cop is even going to let you get that many words out, especially if he's actually got a legit reason to be pulling you over in the first place? You don't just say "I'm going to drive away now" to a cop, nevermind wrapping it all up with that implied threat to his well being.

At most, I'd try this sort of thing by having some cash in one of my hands (which would be on the wheel as he approached, just like cops like), where it can't be seen by a dash-cam, and I'd just say the usual "What seems to be the problem, sir?" as he walked up. He'd see the money and know what's-what, without me launching into a big old recorded speech/greeting/order/death threat.

[Kerberos]

Repeat after me: "No sir, you may not search my vehicle." "No sir, you may not search my bag."

That might hold true in RL but in Shadowrun you effectively have very few rights unless you're rich or influential. None if you're SINless. The core of the setting is dystobianism, the notion of standing on you "rights" is bizarre.

Oh, and can I assume you're joking about the string theory? Normally I would, but there are some weird people on the internet.

[vladski]

That might hold true in RL but in Shadowrun you effectively have very few rights unless you're rich or influential. None if you're SINless. The core of the setting is dystobianism, the notion of standing on you "rights" is bizarre.

Oh, and can I assume you're joking about the string theory? Normally I would, but there are some weird people on the internet.

Believe me, it doesn't even hold true in real life. Personal experience.

Not to mention, even if they don't physically search your vehicle or bag ( actually honoring the law *snorts*), they WILL detain you beside the road and call for a K9 unit to sniff your vehicle and possessions. In SR, they would break out the chem-sniffer. Once hte dog barks (or the sniffer wails) they are going right in with probable cause.

Vlad