This guide is aimed at teaching you the fundamentals of all Security work. Other guides go into more depth in certain areas, or are more comprehensive, etc., but this guide will detail the core informaton you need to know as any member of Security.
More on what this guide is not:
- Long
- Comprehensive
- How to deal with every antag type
- How to be a good HOS, warden, detective or brig physician
- How your strategy should change in mid and late game
You shouldn’t choose any other Security role without knowing these fundamentals, and I don’t recommend choosing any other Sec role until you have at least a few dozen hours as an Officer to drill them into your head.
1) Gearing Up
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Gas mask on, epipen in boots, flash in left pocket, emergency oxygen tank in right, handcuffs in internals box. This way you’re prepared to turn on internals with a single click incase you see a n2o canister be released or similar.
Either put your ID in your PDA for ease, or put the PDA in your internals box if you’re paranoid about PDA bombs. They won’t kill you but losing your ID is annoying.
Go to a gear room security locker and grab the secbelt, put the seclite on your disabler and turn it on, and grab the sechuds. Move the spare flash in the belt to your internals box, then turn on both stun batons and put them in your belt where they take up less bag space. Close your damn locker and alt-click it to lock it.
Security Vendor
Grab another seclite from the vendor to put on your helmet and turn that on too (unless you prefer berets).
Also grab at least one extra pair of cuffs, one energy bola and two donuts. Eat one donut now because it’ll give you a mood boost and you’re most likely hungry. Save spare donuts for when you’ve taken some bruises (they heal you if you’re Security). Bola in belt or backpack for the quickdraw, as they’re especially useful when dealing with Sleeping Carp or double-bladed energy sword users.
2) Securing High-Value Targets
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Whilst you may think the most important parts of your job are to patrol and eat donuts, before you can get to that there are a few very important items you should make sure are secured.
Nuke Disk
Open your PDA and use the Crew Manifest feature. If there’s no Captain, ask the AI over sec comms if the Acting Captain has secured the disk yet, which they should have by now. You can also check yourself by using the camera console in the Security Office. Follow-up on this in 5 mins, if nobody has grabbed it yet then keep bugging them to secure the disk and even follow them until they do if you have to.
HOS’ Disk Pinpointer
After that check if there’s a HOS, and if there’s none then see if there’s a Warden. If there’s a Warden then check if they’ve gone to get their ID updated to HOS. If they haven’t then PDA the Captain/Acting Captain to ask if you can be promoted to HOS so you can secure the HOS’ Disk Pinpointer.
This needs to be secured so that Security is immediately able to locate where the nuke disk is at all times, in case of nuclear operatives murdering the Captain or if for any other reason the disk goes missing. If the pinpointer isn’t held by someone it can lead to the death of everyone and destruction of the station as a whole, so it’s crucial that this is secured early on.
If you don’t feel qualified to actually be the HOS then bring the unlocked locker to the warden’s office for them to utilise instead, and use the department console in/near the HOS office to update the Warden’s ID to HOS access so they can lock/unlock the locker. Be sure to let the rest of Security know that the pinpointer has been secured as well to prevent any misunderstandings.
Armory
Is there a Warden? If there’s not but there are multiple Sec Officers then one of you should probably volunteer for the job. This is so that there’s someone who can safeguard the Armory/Brig, monitor/release prisoners, process new detainees, update the sec records and watch the cameras. Ask the HOS to upgrade your access, or if there’s none then you’ve likely become HOS from the previous step anyway.
As a thought exercise of the worst case scenario where the only Security member is yourself, you should still be the Warden and instead make other crew into Deputies who can patrol. There are Deputy armbands and ID cards in the Warden’s locker for this purpose. This may seem daunting if you’re still new to Security, but if you just carry additional guns so you can dissuade any intruders then you’ll be able to do the bare minimum you’re expected of.
3) Patrolling
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Once that’s done proceed to your department if you’re assigned one and scout it out as well as the nearby maint tunnels. Leave any lockers and crates you spot open, they’re common places to stash corpses and contraband.
If there’s maint rooms which are missing an airlock when they shouldn’t be then tap on the walls with your bare hand to ascertain if there’s a false wall. If you can’t locate it then deconstruct the wall so you can properly inspect it.
If you’re assigned to a department you should aim to spend the majority of the time there and nearby maint, assuming there’s a full roster of the security team including ~7 officers. Other security can patrol public areas, maint, other departments etc but only you have full access to your department. Keep a close eye on it.
NEVER WALK WITH YOUR WEAPONS OUT. Drill this into your brain. It’s the number 1 biggest mistake newb seccies make. All it takes is a single shove or slip then your weapon is gone. Keep your shit holstered until the very nanosecond you need to use it, and holster it again if your chase ends up longer than a few seconds until you can get in good range/angle to attack again.
Keep your secbelt open at all times so you can quick-draw your weapons if needed. Patrol with a partner if possible, as they can help if you get ambushed or at the very least escape and call for help.
Identifying Criminals
Familiarise yourself with Space Law. Live it. Breathe it. Act on it. As long as you follow it you’ll never be shitsec.
Shift-click people constantly to examine them and inspect at what they’re wearing. Are they wearing any gear that is incongruent with their job? Are they blood-stained or smelly? Are they wearing a gas mask or face-concealing helmet? Are they wearing an ID that doesn’t belong to them, or no ID at all, or an ID which shouldn’t have access to this area?
All these things may point to a criminal. If it’s code blue feel free to do random searches whenever you feel it, on code green only when there’s reasonable suspicion that someone has done a crime, and on code red you should be regularly doing random searches.
If they’re stationary then use the arresting method detailed in the next section. If they’re moving quickly then shift + middle-click to repeatedly point at them and use the HALT action button of your sec mask to signal them to stop, then you can proceed to arrest them. But if they keep moving and you’re reasonably sure they’re resisting arrest rather than simply not seeing or hearing your hails then you’ll likely have to use your disabler to slow them down.
4) Arresting
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The procedure for arresting will depend on what the station alert level is, which can be Code Green, Blue, Red or Delta. You can check the colour of the lights on fire alarm buttons to quickly identify the current alert level, or ask someone else on comms.
Detaining
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If they're stationary then examine them and set their criminal status to Arrest (on secHUDs gives them a red W symbol for Wanted). This way if they run or escape then a silicon or security member can quickly identify them again so they can be re-arrested. If you're chasing them you'll only be able to examine them, later you can scroll back and set their criminal status if you've lost them or once they're cuffed.Generally speaking you should use the stun baton - two hits, then handcuff them. But if you’re more experienced then use a flash if you’re certain they’re not wearing sunglasses, because it saves the charge on your baton and you still have just enough time to handcuff them.
You stun and cuff for all searches because they could very easily be carrying a weapon which is deadly in close range e.g. sleepy pen, Sleeping Carp, mini energy crossbow, etc.
Once they’re securely in your grip then explain briefly why they’re being arrested, which could be as simple as it being a random search. Set them to Arrest status now if they couldn’t do it earlier due to chasing them.
Next, take them to the appropriate place. If this is just a random search, then take them to the nearest sec post or you may have to take them to the Brig Holding Cell if you don’t have access to any nearby departments to use their sec post. If they’re wanted for a crime then you take them to a Brig cell.
Searching
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In a Brig cell or sec post open the locker, have them stand ontop of it and strip them of everything except their uniform. If you suspect they're wearing a chameleon jumpsuit or are a changeling then feel free to briefly take that off too to inspect it but then immediately put it back on them.Thoroughly search their belongings. On Bee exosuits and boots can hold two small items each, so use alt-click on them to check for any hidden items. Search their internals box and pick up items of clothing to see if they’re chameleon items or stuff like pens to see if it’s a sleepy pen. Examine their headset to check for encryption keys they shouldn’t have and inspect their PDA for messages and illicit cartridges. Check if their ID is an agent ID or it has access it shouldn’t by throwing it at the door, which will open if it has security access on it.
If they’re clean of contraband and the search proves any other accusations were wrong then update their criminal status to Discharged and add a comment on their record with some more info e.g. “Randomly searched because they were hanging around Science maint, they were clean”, then uncuff them. If your search does implicate them in a crime however or they’re alreaded implicated, proceed to Brig them.
Brigging
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Examine them then click [Add Record]. For the name of the crime try to use the space law title e.g. Major Trespass, Vandalism, etc. Then for the description write out a fuller description of what actually happened.If there’s any contraband, items they shouldn’t have (e.g. weapons, department-specific items etc) or items which were used in the crime (e.g. tools and insulated gloves for breaking and entering, sunglasses for resisting arrest, etc) then confiscate those. Buckle them to the bed whilst you fetch an evidence locker, drag it over to the cell then picking up the items and dropping them into the evidence locker below you. Once you’re done flash the criminal to interupt any unbuckling attempt, drag back the evidence locker and return to the cell.
Note if you find any traitor items or high value items like Command IDs then give these to the warden instead so they can put it in the Armory contraband locker. This is because lawyers also have access to evidence lockers, and they’re not mindshielded so assume that they can easily get their hands on it.
Lock the cell locker (alt-click) then open their item stripping window where you can see they’re handcuffed. Stun them with 2 baton hits and immediately uncuff them. Pick up the cuffs and leave the cell before they get back up. This is so they don’t get a pair of free cuffs, and they can leave the cell when the timer is up immediately instead of having to wait to be uncuffed as well.
Remember to close the door behind you as you leave the cell. Then set the timer using space law as a guideline.
Capital Crimes
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If you catch anyone who's committed a capital crime then after you've updated their record then inform your superior of their offence. Instead of taking them to a cell they'll need to fully stripped over one of the lockers outside perma. They'll need to be implant checked by the brig physician, or someone else will have to do their duties. After that then put uniform, shoes and a prisoner ID on them. Stun baton and uncuff them in the perma cell before leaving them.The HOS however has more options than this: they can order the criminal to be executed, forced cyborgise them or sentenced to permanent gulag.
Additionally in exceptional circumstances it’s acceptable for anyone to execute the criminal immediately e.g. having martial arts, being a changeling, they resist mindshields, they have magic which makes them impossible to contain, they have allies like a blood brother that will try to mount a rescue, etc.
Conclusion
There’s a fair amount to know even for the fundamentals but this should cover most of the basics info. For more information I’d recommend Arbalezt’s new guide, as well as other security guides from Azrael, Prickly Tomato and WindowsErrors.
Changelog:
- 24/12/2021 - WIP update (still incomplete) - has improved formatting, and some edits to take into account the new Space Law rework.
