SAPSSouth African Police ServiceLightVille Station · Handbook

1.1Who we are

SAPS LightVille Station polices the whole city. We patrol, answer calls, police the roads, investigate crime and keep the peace, working alongside FMD (fire and medical) and VESA (vehicle services).

We are a service, not a force. People call us on their worst day, and our job is to make it better. The Commander leads the station and has the final say in character.

1.2Our values

1.3The oath

Every member swears:

Your oath is to the law and the public, never to a person or a rank. If anyone orders you to break the law, the oath comes first.

1.4About this server

2.1The ranks

Commissioned officers are Captains and above.

2.2Divisions and callsigns

• Your callsign is your division word plus a number, like Alpha-4. Numbers 1–3 are for Captains and above.
• Detectives write D/ before their rank: D/Cst, D/Sgt, D/Lt. It gives no extra authority.
• Only Detectives (or Lieutenants and above) work cases. Only Traffic officers issue driving licences.

2.3Accreditations

Extra qualifications, open from Constable. They never expire and give no authority over anyone.

• TRT (Tactical Response Team): tactical weapons and uniform for armed suspects, hostages and high-risk warrants.
• Air Wing: flying the police helicopter.

2.4Who is in charge at a scene

• The highest rank present is the Scene Commander. Their word is final at that scene.
• Same rank? Whoever has held it longer.
• Division and accreditation don't count. A TRT Constable advises; the Sergeant decides.

2.5The Commander and the Board

3.1The basics

• Tell the truth to your seniors, IPID and the public.
• Same law for everyone. Friends, family and gangs change nothing.
• Never use police powers for yourself: no harassing, no settling scores.
• The Mirror Policy: be polite to people who cooperate and stay professional with people who don't. They mirror you; you never mirror them.
• No microphone, no voice. If anyone in a scene can't use voice, the whole scene moves to text.
• Rights, charges and warnings are given in text, so there is a record.
• At the station: no weapon drawn without a real threat, and no out-of-character chat in the public lobby.

3.2In character and out of character

3.3Newcomers: the First Contact rule

A player under level 5 (their level is their score in the player list) who commits a minor traffic or Tier 1 offence for the first time gets a warning and an explanation, not a ticket or arrest. If they seem lost, explain briefly in /b. Serious crimes are still arrested.

3.4Corruption

The Service forbids corruption: bribes, leaks, protecting gangs or keeping seized items.

3.5Server rules

4.1Who can join

• Level 5 or higher (your score in the player list).
• A Code B (car) driving licence from the driving school.
• No Tier 2 or Tier 3 charge on your record, ever. This rule is permanent.

4.2Applying

At LightVille Station, stand at the reception desk, press ALT and choose Apply to Join SAPS. Answer five questions in character: why you want to join, when you play, how you'd handle a rude driver, any police roleplay experience, and whether you'll commit to your shifts.

• One application at a time. If you're denied, the letter gives the reason, and you can reapply after 7 days.
• If you're accepted, your letter and the Academy role arrive on Discord. Keep your Discord messages open.

4.3Cadet training

There's no exam. After sign-off, a Deputy Commander or above promotes you to Constable. An FTO is any Constable with 7 days in rank, or a Sergeant or above. They show you the job, correct you and log your rides.

4.4What a Cadet may do

4.5Your first shift

1. Clock on at an Occurrence Book terminal in the station: ALT, then Clock IN/OUT.
2. At the locker: ALT, then Uniform.
3. Open your Radio from your inventory and set frequency 1. No radio? Buy one at any shop for $350.
4. Join a unit with /units, or start one with /unit create.
5. Go available with /av.

5.1Your shift block

A Deputy Commander or above gives you one block for the week, the same block every day. At the start of each block, the SAPS WhatsApp group gets a roll call of who is rostered. You can work outside your block too: it's paid, but only time inside your block counts for the shift rule.

5.2Clocking on and off

On: at an Occurrence Book terminal, press ALT and choose Clock IN/OUT. Then go to the locker and change into Uniform. On duty, you're always in uniform.

Off: at the locker, choose Civilian Outfit first; the terminal won't clock you off in uniform. Then clock out at the terminal. Going off duty also takes you out of your unit.

• Crashed? Rejoin within 5 minutes and your shift and unit carry on. After that, your shift closes at the moment you dropped.
• Duty log: each clock-on (10-8 In Service) and clock-off (10-7 Out of Service, with your hours) is posted to the SAPS WhatsApp group.

5.3Pay

Every minute on duty counts. Pay lands in your bank every Friday at 18:00 SAST. Example: 10 hours as a Constable = $70,000.

5.4Leave

Ask in the SAPS Discord leave channel, at least 24 hours ahead where you can. A Captain or above approves up to 14 days; longer needs the Commander. You don't go on duty while on leave. Exams, matric and family are good reasons.

5.5What the server expects

6.1Promotion

You also need no live strike and to have met the shift rule in each of your last 2 weeks. Meeting the requirements makes you eligible, not promoted. The Commander appoints the Deputy Commander; the Board appoints the Commander.

There are no arrest quotas. Officers are judged on hours and conduct, never on how many people they arrest.

6.2Changing division and accreditations

• Division: from Constable, ask a Captain or above. If they recommend you, a Deputy Commander or above moves you at the Chief Desk. There's no course, and you keep your rank.
• Accreditations (TRT, Air Wing): from Constable. Take the course, run by an accredited Sergeant or above (the first one by the Commander), then pass a practical test. Failed? Retry after 48 hours. A Deputy Commander or above records it at the Chief Desk.

6.3Discipline

• A Sergeant or above can park you: end your shift for poor or unsafe roleplay. It isn't a strike.
• Every strike needs a short Disciplinary Report in the SAPS Discord, naming the handbook section that was broken (for example "3.3").
• Discipline is out of character, and never used for an in-character argument.

6.4Appeals and coming back

• Appeal to the Executive Director within 7 days of the Disciplinary Report. Strikes stand while the appeal is heard; removals are paused. The decision is final.
• Rejoining after removal: 14 days if it was for the shift rule, 30 days for misconduct, never for corruption.

7.1The station

Stand on a point and press ALT.

7.2Equipment

• Every rank, on duty: the taser (/taser or /tz) and tackle mode (/tk).
• Long guns live in your car's holster (press N, then Vehicle, then Holster: 3 weapons per car, car unlocked). Take them out only for a P1 call, a pursuit or an armed suspect, and put them back at Code 4.
• Hand In Equipment at the armoury returns your weapons at the end of a shift.
• Deployables: /deploy ss (spike strip), cone, rb (roadblock), barrel or tape. Remove yours with /undeploy. /undeployall clears everyone's, so it's Sergeant+ only.

7.3Uniforms

• On duty, always in uniform.
• Cadet to Lieutenant: Patrol uniforms (women: Cadet or Standard).
• Captain and above: the commissioned uniforms.
• Detective and Anti-Gang kits are for those divisions. Detectives may work in theirs instead of patrol uniform.
• The tactical kit is for TRT officers on a TRT callout only.

7.4The fleet

Up to 21 shared vehicles with CLV plates. Take one out at the garage if you're on duty and hold the rank.

• Put cars back at the garage when you're done. Any officer can put away any fleet car.
• /siren roof, dashboard or mid fits a flashing light; /siren off removes it.
• A Deputy Commander or above buys and sells fleet vehicles, and can respawn the whole fleet with /respawnsaps.

8.1The radio

Rules: say your callsign first (the radio shows it as ALPHA-4A for a driver and ALPHA-4B for a passenger). Keep it short. A Code 0 clears the channel. Never go out of character on the radio.

8.2Codes

Anything else, say in plain English.

8.3Units

• /unit create starts a unit. Your callsign comes from your division, such as Alpha-4.
• /units lists the units, where you can join one as the passenger. A unit holds two officers. The driver opens or closes it to joiners with /unit gate.
• /unit leave takes you out of a unit. The driver can end it with /unit disband.
• Status: /av 10-8 available · /enroute 10-15 · /os 10-97 on scene · /busy 10-6. You can't go 10-8 while still on a call.
• Your screen shows your unit, status, call and the nearest open call. On-duty officers see each other as blue dots on the map. /backup turns yours yellow (10-78).

8.4Answering calls

• See calls: /calls. Take one: /calls [number], or tap the alert box.
• Make one: /newcall opens a picker (P1: armed robbery, shots fired, hijacking, hostage. P2: assault, domestic, vehicle theft, burglary, public disorder. P3: suspicious person or vehicle, welfare check). Self-start with /ts (traffic stop) or /1080 (pursuit). Whoever makes a call becomes its primary unit.
• Unit limits: P1 5, P2 3, P3 2. The primary can add one more with /backup (never more than 5).
• Primary unit: leads the call. Hand it to another unit on the call with /primary.
• Captains and above can add or remove units with /assign.
• Finishing: /clear. If you're primary, pick the code and the call closes for everyone. If not, you just leave the call.

Always pick the code that's actually true, and never close a call you didn't attend.

8.5Automatic alerts

• 10111 calls: a citizen's emergency call opens a P2 call at their location.
• Shots fired (10-71): the city's gunfire sensors open a P2 call. If a second shooter is heard, it becomes P1 "Multiple Shooters".
• Officer down (Code 0, 10-99): every on-duty officer is alerted.
• Gang warfare (10-96): a turf war has started.
• Vehicle theft: its location updates every 5 minutes.
• Speed cameras: they report the car, plate and speed. Turn the alerts on or off with /togspeedtrap.

9.1The traffic stop

1. /po to pull the driver over.
2. /ts at the spot where you stop, so the CAD logs it.
3. Identify yourself (rank, surname, SAPS LightVille) and give the reason.
4. Check their licence: Faction Panel → Licence Check, or the MDC.
5. Decide: warn, ticket (/ticket, Constable+) or arrest. /sto orders the driver out.

First minor offence by a newcomer? Warn them (3.3).

9.2AARTO: tickets and points

• Ticket: /ticket [id] and choose the offence. The driver pays at the station's reception desk. Arrest-only offences are booked as Tier 1 (Chapter 10), and the points still apply.
• Unpaid for 7 days: the ticket is blocked. The driver can't get a licence, register a car or collect an impounded vehicle. Unpaid for 14 days: an arrest warrant goes to a judge.
• Paying never removes points. Points fade by 1 per clean week.
• 15 points: the licence is suspended for 7 days, plus 1 day for each point over 15. A 3rd suspension cancels every licence for good.
• Drivers check their own record with /mytickets and /demerits. A Captain or above can cancel a wrong ticket with /voidticket [number] [reason].

9.3Licences

• /takelicence only on a judge's order. AARTO suspends licences by itself.
• /takegunlicence on any arrest for a weapons (W) or violence (V) charge.

9.4Impounds and roadblocks

/pdm → Vehicle Interaction, standing next to the car:

• Check Registration: owner and plate.
• Force Entry: only with a warrant, or if a life is in danger.
• Impound to Insurance: abandoned or blocking cars. The owner gets them back through insurance.
• Seize to Police Impound: for a car used in a crime, driven unlicensed, or held as evidence. Up to 7 days (Constable), 8–30 days (Captain+). Always give a reason. The release fee is the fine for the offence that caused the seizure.

Roadblocks need a Sergeant or above to authorise them, and at least 2 officers. Stop every car, or every 3rd car, never by how people look.

9.5Pursuits

• /1080 turns the call you're on into a P1 pursuit, or starts a new pursuit call if you're not on one. Free units are alerted, and every unit on the call gets a map marker that follows the primary unit.
• The primary unit leads. Other units follow and block.
• PIT: Constable+, only when the driver is a danger to the public.
• Ramming: only to stop a vehicle being used as a weapon.
• Spikes (/deploy ss): only ahead of the fleeing car, never into other traffic.
• A Sergeant or above, or the primary unit, ends the pursuit when the danger to the public is bigger than the crime.
• Cadets never lead a pursuit.
• Afterwards, file an Incident Report (Pursuit) on the MDC.

10.1Use of force

• No taser on someone who is cooperating, already cuffed, or driving.
• Never shoot at a fleeing car, unless it's being used as a weapon or someone in it is shooting.
• After any Level 3 or 4, file an MDC Incident Report with Use of Force: Yes before you clock off (Chapter 12).
• Taser: /taser (or /tz) switches it on or off. It works within 12 metres. Tackle: /tk turns tackle mode on; a punch then knocks the person down for 5 seconds, long enough to cuff them.

10.2Searching

You need a reason: something you saw, heard or found. "Looked suspicious" is not a reason.

• People: Faction Panel → Frisk. It works when the person has their hands up, is injured, cuffed or tackled. Anything you take goes into your inventory, so book it into the station safe before you clock off. Keeping, using or selling it is corruption.
• Weapons: Faction Panel → Weapon Frisk, then seize one or all. Seize Dirty Money takes all illegal cash. Seized weapons and dirty money are destroyed on the spot.
• Cars: can be searched on reasonable grounds. Houses and locked buildings need a warrant (Chapter 11).

10.3Making an arrest

Press N, choose Faction Panel, and pick the person (you must be within 2.5 metres). Only on duty.

1. Cuff: works when their hands are up, or they're injured, tased or tackled.
2. Read the rights with /rights, in text.
3. Charge Suspect: choose each charge from the penal code (Reference, R2). Traffic charges also add AARTO points.
4. Drag, then Force In Car, and drive to the station.
5. At the booking point, open the Faction Panel again and choose Jail Suspect.

Cadets may arrest and book for Tier 1 and Tier 2 charges. A Tier 3 arrest needs a Constable or above present.

10.4What happens at booking

The highest tier among the charges decides. On the jail screen, 1 month = 1 real minute.

• Time in the holding cells is capped at 120 minutes. Prison is capped at 180 minutes.
• Someone who has missed two court hearings goes straight to prison when booked.

11.1Warrants

1. Request (Constable+): MDC → Warrants → Request a Warrant. Give the suspect, the place (for search warrants), your reasonable grounds (facts, not feelings) and a one-line summary.
2. A judge approves or rejects it. Approved warrants show on the suspect's MDC record.
3. After acting on it: MDC → Warrants → Execute a Warrant, and write what happened.

Unpaid traffic tickets and missed court dates create warrants automatically, and a judge still has to approve them.

11.2Breaching

/breach forces open the nearest locked door, gate or house within 3 metres for 15 minutes. You need to be on duty and holding a Battering Ram (armoury, Constable+). Every breach is logged.

Only breach with an approved Search or High-Risk warrant, or when a life is in immediate danger, or when you're chasing a suspect who just ran inside.

11.3Courts

After a Tier 3 booking the suspect is held on remand and the Judiciary takes over. The suspect can plead guilty (their sentence is cut by 30% and they go to prison), plead not guilty (a hearing is set), or ask for bail. The court must act quickly, so:

• File an Incident Report the same shift, with the facts the court will need.
• Attend the hearing if you're online and the Judiciary asks you to.
• Never discuss the case with the judge outside the hearing.
• Bail and pleas are the Judiciary's business, not ours.

11.4Complaints and public reports

Members of the public report crimes and complaints at the station's reception desk (or with /reportcrime).

• Crime reports are reviewed by the Detective division or a Lieutenant and above (/reviewreports). An approved report becomes a case (Chapter 12).
• Complaints about officers go to IPID, run by Government, which investigates the police. SAPS does not investigate itself.

12.1The MDC

Open it with /mdc (on duty), or at an Occurrence Book terminal.

• Dashboard: the most urgent open calls.
• Search: look up a person by name, or a vehicle by ID or plate. A person's record shows their licences, AARTO points and status, and how many warrants and unpaid tickets they have.
• Record buttons: vehicles, history, notes (add your own), warrants, properties (with GPS) and employer. Only Captains and above can remove charges from a record. Every change is logged.
• Reports, Cases, Warrants: see below and Chapter 11.

/trace (live location by phone number or plate) is for on-duty Constables and above, and only for an open call, an open case, an approved warrant or a missing person. Note every trace in your report. Misuse is Strike 2.

/fa (a message to the whole city) is for Captains and above: public notices only, never wanted persons or taunts.

12.2Incident reports and cases

Incident reports (MDC → Reports): every pursuit, collision, injury or use of force, before you clock off. Choose the type, list the officers and people involved, and answer Use of Force yes or no. A Lieutenant or above reviews each report; a use-of-force report is cleared or sustained.

Cases (MDC → Cases), for the Detective division or a Lieutenant and above: open a case for any crime that needs more than one shift, update it as you learn more, and close it as solved or unsolved. Each case gets a number like CAS 001/10/2026. A case with no updates for 7 days goes cold.

Detectives may work in plain clothes and keep informants. Never reveal an informant (the penalty is removal), and never commit a Tier 2 or 3 crime to stay undercover.

12.3Emergencies

Crime scenes: the first officer secures the scene. Tape it off with /deploy tape, push people back with /cta, and keep the witnesses there.

Public order (riots and protests): only the Commander or Deputy Commander authorises it. The RG-12 Nyala comes out only for public order. Hold the line, use tear gas only on the Commander's order, and stand down when the crowd breaks up.

12.4Working with other services

R1Commands

Ranks are the lowest that may use the command. Most need you on duty. The Faction Panel is N → Faction Panel.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

R2Penal code: charges and fines

1 month on the jail screen = 1 real minute. Tier 1: pay or serve · Tier 2: holding cells · Tier 3: court (Chapter 10). Traffic charges T-01 to T-14 are in 9.2; all of them are Tier 1.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

R3Words we use

Ranks and pay are in 2.1 and 5.3. Codes are in 8.2.