Vehicle Impound Options

[Tinman]

A player in my group has had to abandon his Suzuki Mirage after a tail turned into a sextuple homicide in the middle of downtown Seattle (one of the tires took a hit). I felt it was over quickly enough that he deserved to have a chance of making a get away before any drones or Lone Star officers made it to the scene.

Now that the run the group was on has been completed, there is talk of breaking into the impound lot where the bike was taken to by Lone Star. I've had the great fortune of never having had to go to one of these places (yet) so I was wondering if I could pick some brains on what I should plan out.

From what I've seen from television and movies they seem to be a large asphalt parking lot blocked off by a chain-link fence and a gate, with a building for the clerical workers outside of the fenced off lot.

I was wondering if this is mostly accurate, and what kind of security features would be included. I had in mind cameras positioned around the lot and maybe a patrolling drone for security. This might be a little light on security, but I figured the biggest problem he's going to have is getting it back from the lot to his garage without being spotted by zillions of cameras throughout the city.

And yes, I've told the players this may not be the best idea ever.

[Paul]

Assuming it didn't got a private impound lot-a number of small cities subcontract to local towing services-basically an impound lot is basically just that. Some do have pole barns that they store higher value stuff-cars, electronics, etc... In the world of Shadowrun I'd imagine it'd be pretty close to the same thing-maybe with some automated security, and some equipment to keep people from remotely accessing their ride.

[3278]

I might be imagining it, but it seems like the day of the giant municipal impound lot may have passed. What you seem most often now is that the city subcontracts with private towing companies, who tow the vehicles and then get per diem to store them. These private lots, then, end up with lower security than you'd find in a single giant lot, but that security is also less dispersed. Cameras have replaced dogs for security.

In terms of modern-day equivalents, for middle-of-the-road facilities, Hadlock's is a good small-to-average local private lot. it ain't much, but that's what "impound lots" often are in 2012.

[CanRay]

Drones have probably replaced cameras for security at those places, with big searchlights and a SMG/AR with Gel Rounds, so as to not dent/damage the merchandise.

[Snow_Fox]

The thing is how much sercuirty? What are they guarding against? Most towed cars would be corpers or common citizens who are going to be indimidated by a large ork or a troll, most are not ready to deal with runners who can take on corp security systems BUT personally I'd consider the bike a right off. Think it through, the bike was used in a crime. They have no idea who did it but they got the bike. a good runner has removed all traces from it so it's a blank lead until the momment someone tries to get it back and them LS pounces. Actually that seems like a good run- you're hired to recover a particular car from impound and deliver it to X, not knowing they police are looking for someone dumb enough to move on it.

[CanRay]

Illegally parked cars. Especially in places that have snowplows.

[Midas]

While the chain-link fence that many posters are suggesting would be atmospheric, I think that the impound lot of the 2070's would be more of a warehouse coated in wi-fi inhibiting paint to prevent the problem of folk remotely accessing their rides, that or a wi-fi inhibiting gizmo attached to each vehicle.

I would agree with the drone patrol/security camera scenario, probably with a spider overwatching security and monitering for illegal signals (people trying to remotely access/hack vehicles) and few redneck types to collect the vehicles for people who pay the fines to get their vehicles back (this fine thing would be for vehicles that have been towed, not those found at the scene of a homicide as per your runner's case).

I would also expect a few stealth RFID tags hidden away around/inside the vehicle, all calibrated to sound the alarm once a day at specific times, and dormant (and therefore undetectable) outside those times.

Hope the run goes well, and hope you and your players enjoy any complications that arise as a result of stealing back their ride ...

[CanRay]

Damn, now I want to see what a 2070s Police Auction would look like...

[Saint Hallow]

I doubt there would be a lot of these impound lots. No one goes over the meter as you can wirelessly send the nuyen needed to pay for however much time you need. If you get close to running low, the meter sends you a txt saying to please deposit more money or it'll auto-debit your account. Also, if a vehicle does get left, the towing company will scan it to all hell looking for RFID's & who's the owner. If no ownership data can be found, then the car doesn't belong to anyone & get's absorbed by the towing company. I would say 95% of the legal vehicles on the road have some ID or way to make sure they don't get impounded & causing the owner a headache. Illegally parked vehicles can get towed, or simply have the cop/tow guy send an override message to the onboard auto-pilot to move/drive itself to the nearest impound lot.

I see the impound lot facility as a large parking lot with a garage & office building. High fence. Cameras. Drones. Most important, every vehicle inside has their wireless disabled so they can't be remote driven off the lot without paying the impound lot fees. For those vehicles without wireless, maybe they might have a "boot" attachment. Or within the impound lot, there's no wireless signal due to huge jamming & all impound lot electronic devices are hardwired/hard-lined.

Some impound lots can be totally automated and open 24 hours. Customer comes in, gives their SIN & vehicle ID/RFID #, pays whatever fine, & a drone removes whatever safeguards that keep the vehicle within the lot & the vehicle can be driven off by the owner.

Just be aware, the owner's SIN & other credentials will be checked & the vehicle is essentially now tagged with some sort of RFID. So once you get it back, you'll have to erase those tags again.

If the vehicle was found at a crime scene and was taken as evidence... write the thing off. Unless you want to try to break into the evidence lockers/area of whatever LEO has the vehicle.

[Faraday]

One thing I imagine will be fairly prominent in impound lots, as well as many other SR parking areas in dense urban situations is automated car lifts like this.

[Seriously Mike]

As for wifi inhibition, wouldn't area jammers be enough?

[Snow_Fox]

I think this sounds terribly too high tech. Most of this stuff is great for corp high level sec but we're talking minimum level stuff that is generally NOT designed to stop hardneed criminals, I mean shadowrunners. The occassional punk might pull out a gun and intimidation would stop most of that. I do like the idea of deactivating the wireless controls

Actually the guy at the impound might be a good contact. "Bob i need a car for the next 3 hours, what can you lend me?"

[CanRay]

"Depends Snow Fox, will I get it back this time?"

[nightslasthero]

I think security could be huge in 2072. While its true the average guy isn't going to come steal a car, but your average shadowrunner, especially if he is a rigger could walk in, set the cars to go to his garage and steal the whole lot. Why go on a run against a corporation for 5,000 nuyen each when you can steal ten cars and sell them for 2,000 nuyen each? There are also a lot of gangs that could constantly go to impound lots and steal the bikes. I'd say security should be good enough to keep the average gang members away, and if you are storing cars from crimes, all the better to have security.

Of course you could always have an impound lot adjacent to a lonestar building and provide security that way. Or maybe the owner subcontracts security to the local gang who keeps an eye on the place during the night. So I think there could be a reasonable security presence, and since your player wants to do this I would say make it a challege.

Also, be aware that too less security and the people that I play with would take one additional car per person. (No security or relaxed security, and they really would start doing shadowruns against the car impound lot once a week and go into the car business)

[Modular Man]

The way you describe it, stealing a car from the impound lot would still be more difficult than robbing an unsecured standard parking lot altogether.
I'd imagine thick, high fences, a few guards and/or drones (maybe even dogs) and one of these barriers that will kill your tires if it's not lowered before. Throw in a decent jammer or two and you've got a cheap solution for most standard guys who just parked in the wrong place.
A vehicle involved in a mayor homicide is a whole different matter, though. Probability is high that somebody will want to make it disappear. Maybe a segregated part of the underground parking lot right under the Lone Star headquarters (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

And the idea of a contact is so great I will try to fabricate something in the game I'm in... Heck, always access to some (probably tuned) cars nobody will miss anytime soon (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I'll need a decent hacker, some face qualities, some cash... already planning.

[Snow_Fox]

To stop cars from being driven out, just have wheel spikes on a manual lever blocking the door. Between that and a reinforced gate and disabling the wireless options you just needa couple of big guys and maybe a few mean dogs roaming inside the chain link.

Remember these are for propfit places that want the bare minimum in outlay, not a high tech utlra violet sec hq. It's less Base 325 than is it Abe and Ziggy in the shed.

[CanRay]

"Rex got us some new playtoys." "Good! The last one's wore out badly." "Oh, and cousin Bubba just sent us another letter from prison!"

[Saint Hallow]

To stop cars from being driven out, just have wheel spikes on a manual lever blocking the door. Between that and a reinforced gate and disabling the wireless options you just needa couple of big guys and maybe a few mean dogs roaming inside the chain link.

Remember these are for propfit places that want the bare minimum in outlay, not a high tech utlra violet sec hq. It's less Base 325 than is it Abe and Ziggy in the shed.

I would think surveillance cameras would be cheap in 207X. A bunch of cameras on top of a cheap chain fence. As stated before, a lot filled with cars (each with their wireless disabled), an attendant/mechanic, & maybe a sec guard or panic button for the attendant/mechanic.

An impound lot mechanic/attendant would make a great contact. Breaking into a lot should be slightly harder than a public parking lot.

[Paul]

And obviously anything connected an ongoing investigation, or a known violent felon can be stored elsewhere. Someplace less accessible, or with more security.

[KarmaInferno]

This seemed to be appropriate.



-k

[CanRay]

And obviously anything connected an ongoing investigation, or a known violent felon can be stored elsewhere. Someplace less accessible, or with more security.

CSI garage waiting to be investigated?

This seemed to be appropriate.

-k

Very appropriate! Also shows how a face can work sometimes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I'll pass on the Volvo however.

[Paul]

The city I live in has a small, unmarked building that houses several Special Weapons and Tactics vehicles, as well as what I assume is unmarked vehicles. I've never been in there-it's not my department and I can't think of reasonable excuse to get invited in...but yeah CSI labs, undercover task forces, the list goes on.

[CanRay]

Actually, IIRC, impounded vehicles after the court case is how Vice gets their vehicles, as the vehicles in question were "Accomplices" to the crime or something...

[Tinman]

Alas, the player has decided to write off the bike. Too bad too, because I had a good chunk of the Lone Star Securities Pyramid sub-basements mapped out (including an AR enhanced diorama of the 1999 WTO riots in the law enforcement museum).

It all kind of winded down when the rest of the players all requested payment from the bike owner equivalent to a run against Lone Star. He decided it would be much cheaper and safer to just buy it back if and when it goes up for auction.

[nightslasthero]

Some chummers they are not going to help a fellow out to get his favorite bike back.