how to be good sec

Vigilare · Post by **Vigilare** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:14 pm #58795

thread dedicated to dannno for being my #1 fan

share yer sec tips here

it's not harmful if the AI doesn't see
robotics has plenty of spare flashes so triple-flash your suspects after you cuff 'em
riot armour is robust

paprika · Post by **paprika** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:37 pm #58807

Fun is mandatory when playing sec

deathhoof · Post by **deathhoof** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:45 pm #58813

Get a bedsheet, glass shard, and wirecutters. Welder too if you actually care about mending the wound. Use this robust assortment of tools to put a radio set to security with speaker off into anyone and everyone you find suspicious. Works best if your character is obsessed with ghetto surgery.

Bluespace · Post by **Bluespace** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:48 pm #58818

Talk to the crew. Help them. Security can be helpful too.

ThanatosRa · Post by **ThanatosRa** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:51 pm #58819

Use human judgement when dealing with the crew.
Don't be a dick unless it saves the station in the moment.

Never stop beating the clown.

Ikarrus · Post by **Ikarrus** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:52 pm #58820

Talk to people whenever you can.

bandit · Post by **bandit** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:18 am #58868

Don't even bother. No matter what you do people will bitch at you for being a too-harsh Nazi and a too-lenient moron, probably at the same time for the same thing.

Ikarrus · Post by **Ikarrus** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:31 am #58871

Nah not everyone. A lot of people instantly change their mind about you once you treat them like actual people, and then suddenly you're the best security player out there.

Like the best chemist out there is the one that does his job. Same goes for just about any job.

The bar is really low, you just need to try.

bandit · Post by **bandit** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:43 am #58877

Sadly this is not the case. A few rounds ago I was HoS and found out my officers threw a lizard into perma without telling me. I find this out by being admin BWOINKed about it out of nowhere, when the last I checked he was in a normal cell serving normal time. The officer's story was that the lizard murdered the bartender and the proof was he had his armor and PDA. The lizard's story was that he found the bartender's armor and PDA in escape. So I was asking questions and being polite, apologizing for the wait (no one would answer my questions except the AI, who had no way of knowing) all the time simultaneously having to deal with the lizard screaming at me "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, THIS IS WHY PEOPLE GRAYTIDE AGAINST SECURITY" and the officer screaming at me "YOU MORON HE OBVIOUSLY DID IT HE HAS THE DETECTIVE'S ARMOR AND HAD THE PDA." This is generally how every round as security I play goes. I would start to suspect it was my fault if I wasn't being told I was simultaneously too harsh and too lenient.

(In the end it turns out he wasn't an antag. For whatever the fuck that's worth.)

Ikarrus · Post by **Ikarrus** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:59 am #58881

All I gotta say is

git gud

miggles · Post by **miggles** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:20 am #58884

bandit wrote:Sadly this is not the case. A few rounds ago I was HoS and found out my officers threw a lizard into perma without telling me. I find this out by being admin BWOINKed about it out of nowhere, when the last I checked he was in a normal cell serving normal time. The officer's story was that the lizard murdered the bartender and the proof was he had his armor and PDA. The lizard's story was that he found the bartender's armor and PDA in escape. So I was asking questions and being polite, apologizing for the wait (no one would answer my questions except the AI, who had no way of knowing) all the time simultaneously having to deal with the lizard screaming at me "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, THIS IS WHY PEOPLE GRAYTIDE AGAINST SECURITY" and the officer screaming at me "YOU MORON HE OBVIOUSLY DID IT HE HAS THE DETECTIVE'S ARMOR AND HAD THE PDA." This is generally how every round as security I play goes. I would start to suspect it was my fault if I wasn't being told I was simultaneously too harsh and too lenient.

(In the end it turns out he wasn't an antag. For whatever the fuck that's worth.)

you got caught in the middle of two players arguing
that has absolutely squat to do with your own actual behavior
the lizard was mad that he got permad 4noraisins and the officer was trying to justify his shaky decision making
obviously that would make things a little heated

Usednapkin420 · Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:24 am

Take a trophy after every kill. It must be an item you can wear or use. Blood counts as a trophy.

danno · Post by **danno** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:55 am #58933

there's a reason no one likes violaceus

that being said this thread was boned from the start

Whoisthere · Post by **Whoisthere** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:10 am #58959

As sec I find it important to pepperspray people holding items resembling weapons and yell SIR STOP RESISTING at them while calling for backup.
If they get up, throw uncooked flashbangs at them.
When rest of sec dogpiles them and cuffs them tell sec they are guilty of POSSIBLE POSSESSION OF DEADLY ASSAULT SYNDICATE WEAPON.
Give the arrested guy a taser for his troubles later.
Don't confess you gave him one once he is caught with it by other sec.

Also, practice laser is the best weapon, I once scared a ling off a guy with a practice laser. It was pretty hilarious. It's also quite fun to practice laser people in cells. Sometimes they
think you are killing them and try to dodge. Sometimes the warden thinks you are killing them and arrests you. At this point it's important to try and convince the warden that the guy in the cell deserved it.

Alsooo sometimes if you catch a traitor/cultist and search them and they have traitor items/tomes and you tell them OKAY JUST... JUST GO OKAY? JUST BE RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR THINGS DON'T KILL TOO MANY PEOPLE OKAY? they will lose their resolve and just mill around the whole round because this one nice sec officer let them go and asked them not to kill too many people.

Also you don't have to arrest people who are wanted, just moonwalk behind them until beepsky arrests them, then, once they are stunned and on the ground, spin in place and leave.
I also once arrested a traitor, bucklecuffed him to an office chair, stripped he and fed him candy but then I think the other sec/lynchmob freed him.

capi duffman · Post by **capi duffman** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:38 am #58962

-Pay attention: Sometimes you may find clues all around you, being smart isn't being a metagame tool. Seeing the RD's room going dark for a moment isn't grounds to scream "AI MALF" but checking the APCs just in case, pays off.
-Be polite and kind: You'll be surprised, but being nice works better than trying to be imposing. If you talk to people by their name, ask them nicely to come with you for some questions, and only use force when they don't comply, more often than not you'll have crewmembers helping you and being thankful for your behaviour.
-Teamwork is life: Those sensors at maximum, always, and if you get attacked, first scream your location, rather than "HALP I AM GETTING ROBUSTED" the warden and co will have an easier time saving you if they know were to run off to.
Also, if you think your target could be trouble, work as RL police, with another officer. This way the chances of you getting robusted are much lesser, and no matter what, the matter won't go quiet if you lose.
A good detective is a godsend too, a pool of blood and a discarded bloody weapon may tell you on the stop who was the robust offender, so count on your teammates.
-Harness the power of the clown and mime: Those two can be the most robust, but certainly not many will take them seriously. Befriend them, and offer them entertaining in exchange for their help. So you'll have turned a headache into a strong asset for you.

callanrockslol · Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:35 am

Ignore space law, don't arrest anything for a timer that would last less then making an effort to arrest them would.

DO NOT STRIP FOR A 2 MINUTE TIMER.

Just give shit back and tell them to cut the crap if they are stealing, if they keep doing it lock them up a bit.

Gulag is ling bait, don't go there.

Play captain instead if possible.

danno · Post by **danno** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 12:43 pm #58991

callanrockslol wrote:
Play captain instead if possible.

hahaha
oh god.

Steelpoint · Post by **Steelpoint** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:18 pm #58997

There are two kinds of people when your playing as Security, those that have committed a crime and everyone else.

How you interact with anyone who has not committed a crime is your own business, but with criminals I generally either perma them or release them. Usually when you arrest someone they either did something benign or are a antagonist.

Personal tip, don't waste your time on someone.

Spacemanspark · Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:06 pm

How to security:
Place prisoner in the brig for fifteen minutes. Every time.
Go into another room for ten minutes.
Come back out.
You now have your own warzone where you can start racking up kills!

peoplearestrange · Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:19 pm

Seeing as you're all blood incompetent and can't actually say useful things, I move to individually harm batons everyone in this thread.

(Seriously how is 90% thread anything but a waste of time? YES including this.)

Skorvold · Post by **Skorvold** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:33 pm #59028

Just be nice to people, easy peasy mang.

As Warden, if you don't fuck around and beat stuff in your cell I usually let people out 30 seconds to a minute early.

Multiple permabrig prisoners? Give them lasertag equipment. Hell, give them anything short of a way to escape.

Chemical Implant, Tracking Implant, and release people. Avoid killing people unless they're changelings or mass murderers.

Scones · Post by **Scones** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:43 pm #59031

Don't be a cunt. If someone is doing something questionable by law (Breaking into EVA...) but understandable otherwise (...To go get a dead body), just leave them be.

Most minor crimes aren't even worth brigging for. When you do brig people, it should be a first warning, because on the second, they are perma-bound.

Cooperating with traitors is good. Have to get an item nobody cares for? Sure, trade it for their PDA, have the HOP give them a new one.

Do not negotiate with terrorists aka the rainbow communists that are assistants. They want nothing but to shove you and steal you juicy long stun time security items.

rook · Post by **rook** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:30 pm #59122

be DEAD SEC

miggles · Post by **miggles** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:39 pm #59127

space law is optional

vonharden · Post by **vonharden** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:48 pm #59141

be as cruel as the rules allow even for minor crimes, either the criminal will catch on they're not going to get away with their shit this shift or they'll get mad and try to get revenge and then you can take them out of the round permanently. be kind to people who cause no problems. keep records - with HUD glasses all you need to do is examine a character to update their crimes, arrest status, etc.

Stickymayhem · Post by **Stickymayhem** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:53 pm #59146

Live by two rules:
1. Treat antags fucking with security very well.
2. Treat non-antags fucking with security very harshly.

Antags have to fuck with you. That's their job. What you want is to discourage more fuckery from antags, keep people in the game making the round interesting, and ensure everyone has fun while you keep some semblance of control for the first hour depending on the roundtype. Cooperating with antags is the most fun security can have. An ebow-wielding antag hunter, sting operations over secret documents and keeping tabs on every known antag with implants is all a lot more fun for everyone than just ANTAG=VALID4PERMA/DEATH.

Shitlers have chosen to spend their time fucking up your game, so permabrig them without remorse and treat them and only them like garbage. If you just shit on these people's rounds when they try to do the same to you you'll see them stop. This relies on a robust security force but it works.

Vigilare · Post by **Vigilare** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:05 pm #59152

Stickymayhem wrote:Live by two rules:
1. Treat antags fucking with security very well.
2. Treat non-antags fucking with security very harshly.

how do you tell if someone's an antag if they're not carrying a tater item of some sort?
that greytider breaking into the cap's quarters 4nr at roundstart might be an antag for all you know. what do?

iRazgriz · Post by **iRazgriz** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:20 pm #59159

2 things you need to do, mostly.

Know who you can talk to.
And know who you just have to robust without a word.

Some people will gladly talk their way out of troubles or try to get to a compromise.
Some people are just thundercunts and will even ghost if robusted.

Know your chicken.

Also don't be an asshole and, if someone wants to talk, talk back.

iRazgriz · Post by **iRazgriz** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:22 pm #59162

Vigilare wrote:
Stickymayhem wrote:Live by two rules:
1. Treat antags fucking with security very well.
2. Treat non-antags fucking with security very harshly.
how do you tell if someone's an antag if they're not carrying a tater item of some sort?
that greytider breaking into the cap's quarters 4nr at roundstart might be an antag for all you know. what do?

Speak to them.
You will know if he's a shitler just from how he speaks.

Also assistants breaking into places are 99.9% of the times non-antags.

bandit · Post by **bandit** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:55 pm #59177

iRazgriz wrote:
Vigilare wrote:
Stickymayhem wrote:Live by two rules:
1. Treat antags fucking with security very well.
2. Treat non-antags fucking with security very harshly.
how do you tell if someone's an antag if they're not carrying a tater item of some sort?
that greytider breaking into the cap's quarters 4nr at roundstart might be an antag for all you know. what do?
Speak to them.
You will know if he's a shitler just from how he speaks.

Also assistants breaking into places are 99.9% of the times non-antags.

Personally I treat it less as "treat antags like this, treat non-antags like this" and more "if you be rude to me, I be rude to you." People love to bitch about security players being rude but most of the rudeness comes from non-security. Regardless of how the officer acts.

I reserve the full shitcurity treatment for people who try to free prisoners en route to the brig, 99% of whom are non-antags unless it's rev/cult.

Riley · Post by **Riley** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:10 am #59213

Assume good faith, so long as you do so in well-lit public areas.
Be absolutely merciless towards anyone that violates that good faith.

Be liberal with warnings, especially for minor nuisances.
If you catch them going at it again despite the warning, toss them in the brig. You warned them, right?

Befriend the AI - or, at least, don't become their enemy. If Security and the AI get in a power struggle, the station's main defensive tools grind to a halt. Only bad guys win when this happens.

Never, ever talk about executing someone on the Security radio. Or beatings. Don't mention anything shitcurity-related; they'll hear it and be obligated to stop you. If you simply must take someone out of the round, put them in perma, or remove their radio and get them borged. Forced borging is technically harmful, but so long as the AI doesn't get the opportunity to hear your prisoner cry about it, they won't care. Hell, most of them don't even know 'forced borging = harm' is a thing in the first place. If anything, they'll be even more cooperative with you, since more cyborgs give them better control of the station as a whole.

Talk to people before taking action, but be smart about it. If someone's suspected of wrongdoing, confront them in a public area and ask them to submit to a search.
If they bolt on the spot, congratulations, you at least managed to pin someone without dying in the process.
If they comply, be civil and respectful. Apologize for the intrusion. You don't need more enemies than you already have.

Did you nab someone set to arrest, but without any comments or crimes listed? Ask over sec radio. Give them 20 seconds to respond. While you wait, search the person. If they're clean, let them go.
If you've been paying attention but can't remember their name, chances are it was a minor crime - the sentence of which will have expired by the time someone speaks up and tells you what they're in for.

Not Security, but related - if you're a Head of Staff and your department's officer isn't shitcurity, take them to the Bridge and give them complete access to your department via the ID Console.
It'll probably save one or both of your lives at some point.

Luke Cox · Post by **Luke Cox** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 5:52 am #59579

Sometimes as HoS, I'll put perma inmates in straightjackets and leg cuffs, implant them, and give them to genetics as test subjects. That way they get to suffer in the name of science! Also, genetics really appreciates it and always comes to you first with superpowers.

Malkevin · Post by **Malkevin** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 11:16 am #59919

Never use the prisoner transfer room to execute someone, it's too close to cameras.
Take them to the gulag instead, remember to strip them so they don't show on suit sensors.

If a permanent prisoner attempts to escape kill them, perma is already an alternative to death so there's no need to prolong their survival of they're going to cause trouble, this goes especially for the people you've permad for being turds.

Luke Cox · Post by **Luke Cox** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 12:39 am #60063

Malkevin wrote:Never use the prisoner transfer room to execute someone, it's too close to cameras.
Take them to the gulag instead, remember to strip them so they don't show on suit sensors.

If a permanent prisoner attempts to escape kill them, perma is already an alternative to death so there's no need to prolong their survival of they're going to cause trouble, this goes especially for the people you've permad for being turds.

That's too merciful. I like to inject them with mercury and other crippling chemicals, give them some brain damage, etc. Maybe beat them up a little so they limp. Like others have said, I'm especially cruel to non-antag shitheads.

Malkevin · Post by **Malkevin** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:51 am #60072

Should've been more clear: the gulag is where I take people for a Vegas burial

Luke Cox · Post by **Luke Cox** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 3:24 am #60079

Malkevin wrote:Should've been more clear: the gulag is where I take people for a Vegas burial

No no no, any death is too merciful. What you do is place them under anesthetic under the guise of keeping them put and that you'll let them go when they wake up, so they don't know what's happening or go catatonic. Then, you put a station bounced radio in them with the mic on and speaker off in order to spy on them, tracking implant, and a lethal chem implant. Strip them of everything, perform plastic surgery on them (especially if they held a position of power). Gender reassignment if you feel especially cruel. Take them off anesthetic, drag them to locker room, get them dressed and everything, then let them wake up. They'll wake up and realize that they lost everything. Not just their stuff. Their appearance, their identity, friendships, career. Their soul. They'll wander the station, without purpose or ambition. Then, when the shuttle docks with the station, you activate the lethal chem implant to finish them off.

Kangaraptor · Post by **Kangaraptor** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 4:17 am #60088

Luke Cox wrote:
Malkevin wrote:Should've been more clear: the gulag is where I take people for a Vegas burial
No no no, any death is too merciful. What you do is place them under anesthetic under the guise of keeping them put and that you'll let them go when they wake up, so they don't know what's happening or go catatonic. Then, you put a station bounced radio in them with the mic on and speaker off in order to spy on them, tracking implant, and a lethal chem implant. Strip them of everything, perform plastic surgery on them (especially if they held a position of power). Gender reassignment if you feel especially cruel. Take them off anesthetic, drag them to locker room, get them dressed and everything, then let them wake up. They'll wake up and realize that they lost everything. Not just their stuff. Their appearance, their identity, friendships, career. Their soul. They'll wander the station, without purpose or ambition. Then, when the shuttle docks with the station, you activate the lethal chem implant to finish them off.

Comdom level: captain.

Luke Cox · Post by **Luke Cox** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 5:18 am #60096

Violaceus wrote:There is no prisoner console on shuttle to activate implants.

I know, you do it from sec right before it docks. So close, yet so far...

On a related note, I'm surprised more people don't use implanted station bounced radios. It's fun as hell and can be insanely op.

Cheimon · Post by **Cheimon** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:20 pm #60261

Put some thought into what gear you use. Learn when the right time to use baton, flashbang, taser, pepperspray, all that is. There's other basic stuff too, like knowing how to brig people, but that isn't exactly a new tip.

Work with other people. Go out of your way to help other sec officers, and get a culture of being good to each other.

If someone's going out of their way to waste your time, feel free to waste theirs. I mostly mean non antags deliberately provoking sec here. That's where you can start going into the minor clauses of space law and adding extra minutes.

If someone is not trying to waste your time, don't deliberately waste theirs. Process them and get them through the system: 2 minutes is enough for a massive number of minor crimes. It gets the point across without dragging things out.

When all hell breaks loose, stick with your other sec officers. You're much more powerful together: plenty of antags can take on one person alone in maint, but they need much more preparation to face down 3 people. You don't have to control territory: you just have to take out criminals, so spreading out won't always help.

Antimattercarp · Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:01 pm

So now that the 3x3 stun is gone from the pepperspray, when exactly is the right time to use it? (What does it even do anymore?)

Duncdar · Post by **Duncdar** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:11 pm #60796

Aim at the head and spam away. Its robust because they can't see it on your sprite and downs them long enough to cuff them if you're quick, otherwise I just use it to tell people to fuck off.

iRazgriz · Post by **iRazgriz** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:19 pm #60797

Oh and remember to be nice to the AI/borgs.
They can be a pain in the ass if they hate you, as they will be breathing down on your neck at the first sign of harm batons.

On a side note, if you deliberately harm someone in front of a secborg, try not to blow him when he stuncuffs you.