Security Officer

A Security Officer is an agent employed by Nanotransen to act as law enforcement aboard its stations. While many restrictions, laws, and customs surrounding due process may be relaxed in space, Security is still expected to maintain the base minimum of Space Law, act within the boundaries of their authority, answer to the station's chain of command, and generally avoid being poo. To that end, they are equipped with bright-red suits to make it easier for the crew to spot them and defer to their authority, as well as a variety of Security Gear and Weapons to subdue troublemakers or antagonists. Notably, a person who starts the round as a Security Officer cannot be a traitor.

Security is issued with a red-striped Security Headset capable of normal communications activity as well as a special channel, and the Security channel is definitely the most commonly used of the headsets. It can be used, like all special comms channels, with :h before the message to be sent. Note that somebody within a few tiles of a person using a headset can hear the channel through it. Command officers can coordinate Security activity and conduct oversight, and in general, having a special channel that doesn't broadcast to every person on the station can be quite helpful.

The Basics

This profession has a rather sour and ignoble history in most respects, and without a doubt, this particular job is by far the most scrutinized in the game. Even the Heads don't get nearly so much pressure. By deciding to go into Security you must understand what is expected of you and what is forbidden. Be ready to defend yourself and your actions calmly and rationally at all times.

An effective Officer should personally...

• Be skilled enough with SS13's robust combat engine to be able to consistently hit a moving, resisting human target with ranged weaponry as well as the trusty stun baton.
• Be experienced enough to know that keeping your weapons out is both rude and incredibly dangerous, since you can be disarmed and robbed in the space of a second.
• Be diligent enough to respond to calls from across the station and work with the Heads and AI to get access to dangerous areas if necessary.
• Be measured, reasonable, and tolerant, even with confirmed criminals. A beating and warning is often enough for small crimes. Throw somebody in the brig for something relatively serious. Never kill anybody but obvious antagonists unless they have at least committed an act of murder.
• Be knowledgeable enough about the different jobs to understand the difference between common work and social behavior and suspicious activity worth checking out.
• Be cautious enough to prepare for the unexpected, and ready for danger to strike. Do not assume any area is safe; sometimes even the crew is out to get you.
• Be respectful of normal crew and not hold an attitude of smug or aggressive superiority over them. This is unproductive and can be dangerous if the crew retaliates.

An effective Officer can improve Security as a whole by...

• Staying in the loop and maintaining radio contact with fellow officers and superiors. Keep informed and keep others informed as well. You're a team.
• Assist fellow Officers with dangerous situations. Even two people is so much better than a lone Sec officer going into a situation.
• Properly locking up and stowing Security gear and equipment and trying to maintain secured areas and not allow unauthorized entry.
• Checking up on prisoners and suspects and listening to their complaints legitimately. Avoid harsh treatment if possible.
• Check fellow Security if they're going over the line, carrying a grudge, abusing prisoners, or otherwise getting into terrible Security habits. Change is often most effective from within and a single good Security officer can sometimes be enough to turn his fellows around.

Due to how tough this job is and how reviled it is in some quarters, sometimes you will find your department badly understaffed, and may even end up as the only Security officer on the shift when the round starts. Try not to let this intimidate you too badly; maintain normal patrols, use the radio to stay in contact, call in the Heads to help you if necessary, and try not to let on that Security is weaker than usual to the general population to help keep things under control.

If somebody is griefing you, then for the most part, adminhelp it. Low-level grief is basically a matter for Security to handle instead of the Admins, so yes, chase around that shithead and stun him a time or two for breaking into the Cargo Bay or Security, but if somebody is making it their mission in life to fuck you over, assault you repeatedly, and stop you from doing your job, then you need to get help from the admins, plain and simple. If other Security won't stop being shitty, adminhelp that too, and promptly. Don't try to cover for them or help them be shit; just simply be a good Security officer and keep things from boiling over if possible.

Implements of Robust Justice

Security Headset: It's like a normal radio headset, except you can use :h to send messages across a special red-colored Security channel. You'll also automatically recieve such messages across your headset, as well. Note that somebody standing close enough can hear what's coming in through your headset.
Helmet: A simple helmet can protect against some damage to the head, which is a popular area to attack since it's kind of important. Note that similarly prudent protection for the groin area is not provided standard-issue.
Armor: This vest will protect against attacks to the chest, which is targeted by default. Note that armor in this game isn't the most useful it could be so the best course of action is still to avoid being hit in the first place.
Sunglasses: Not only do these shades increase your coolness, but they also protect you from being stunned by flashes or flashbang grenades. Pretty plentiful for Security personnel and the Captain.
Thermals: They're like sunglasses, but red. Also, they enable you to see people through walls as though the walls weren't there, and even recieve event messages such as 'Traitor McTrait has added the cryptographic sequencer to the backpack!' One of the most despised items in the game currently and the hard counter to an even-more despised item, the Syndicate cloak.

Stun Baton: Your standard implement to hand out duly measured punishment to criminals and render almost anybody harmless with a tap. Everybody on the crew wants to get their hands on this weapon, and with good reason; it's a fight-stopper. Note that attempting to use this while set to the Harm intent will result in you stunning yourself. Whoever you just tried to stun will have a good laugh and then, if they're crew, show you the correct way to stun somebody a lot. If they're an antagonist they'll likely just take this opportunity to murder you. As a Security officer, your Intent should generally be set to Disarm because of this. Can be stored on your belt; never have this out in public places unless you're in the act of hitting somebody, or it will be stolen.
Taser Gun: A ranged stun weapon capable of putting people down like the stun baton, but from down the hallway. Has a notably limited battery life, and one or two big fights will be enough to deplete it. Put it into a recharge station instead of tossing it. Like the stun baton, keep it on your belt instead of in your hands or it will be stolen. Your Intent and Aim settings don't appear to affect the usefulness of this weapon. Note that instead of firing at adjacent targets your character may instead try to use the taser as a melee weapon.
Flash: The third direct weapon Security forces, as well as other scattered jobs, have access to. This blinds a target and renders them very easy to subdue, but it has less stopping power than the taser or baton, so follow up with a hit from one of these to make sure. Tends to run out of battery power from use, it can be recharged. A flash can be stored in your pockets, and fits in boxes. Sunglasses block this weapon, which means you're less likely to have one of these devices turned on you than your regular weaponry.
Handcuffs: Can be used to restrict the use of hands, as you can probably figure out. Just click on somebody to start cuffing them. It takes a bit, though, so ensure the target is stunned and unable to resist. Note that being handcuffed will render them a lot less dangerous but they can still move around if they recover from stun effects. You get a good supply of these but they can and should be reused when possible. A traitor item can break somebody free from these, and a normal person can remove them, given a long stretch of time.

Forensics PDA: The PDA you start with as an Officer is capable of scanning nearly anything for fingerprint information. It's rare to see this get used at all, but the functionality is there.
Security Terminal: There's one in Security proper as well as the Bridge itself, and it can be used to check on records for the crew and set a person's criminal record and arrest status, which will sic all available Securitrons on the person. Try not to do this without just cause because Beepsky victims tend to make quite a racket. The AI can access this as well, although the Detective's records terminal is a quicker and easier way to set people to arrest than TermOS.
Securitrons: Little NPC robots who wander around pre-set patrol areas or wherever they're placed and seek out people wielding weapons they aren't authorized to have or who have been added to the Arrest list. Noted for not being terribly bright; they won't take action on their own, even if they witness a murder or obvious antagonist. Victims of a Securitron tend to make a lot of noise and demand Beepsky or his brothers be turned off. They're left stunned and cuffed but not arrested per se so an Officer should be on hand to collect them if necessary.

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