Guide to Contraband

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Revision as of 01:09, 12 February 2020 by imported>Nadyr (Re-adds hardsuit policy for contraband.)
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Summary

tl;dr

  1. Is the person allowed to have it as part of their job? If yes, it's not contraband.
  2. Do they have a permit to have it anyway? If yes, it's not contraband.
  3. Is it not on this list of contraband items on the Wiki? If it's not on the list, it's not contraband.
  4. Is it dangerous in any way to the user or anyone else? If yes, it's at least minor contraband.
  5. Is it intended to cause bodily harm to somebody other than the user, or designed with the intention of breaking into places (such as an emag)? If yes, it's major contraband.
  6. Is it a High Risk Item listed on the wiki? If yes, it's major contraband and also grand theft.

See the Identifying Antagonists page for more items, but this'll be moved over here.


Generally not contraband

The following items are generally not considered contraband for anyone. If they are used in a crime, however, they may become contraband. Generally contraband charges wouldn't apply to the first offence, but if the items are confiscated for another crime, contraband charges may apply if they are found with another one.

Items Notes
Shrink rays Not contraband for anyone. If used to alter someone against their will, then this is considered assault.
Basic tools


File:Analyzer.png

Not contraband. Again, may be confiscated if used in the commission of a crime.
Job gear Items used as part as somebody's job, kept within the bounds of that department, are not contraband.

If an item is potentially harmful, that does not necessarily make it contraband as long as its harmful nature is not the intended use of the item.

Potentially contraband

These items are not always contraband for the crew to possess, but may be considered so under certain circumstances. Generally speaking, if they're kept in their appropriate department they're not contraband. If they're being paraded around in the bar for no good reason by someone whose job doesn't require them to have it, they probably are.

Item Notes
Restricted job gear Items such as mining gear, hardsuits and so on that are in limited supply and/or potentially dangerous. These items are not contraband when being used for their intended purpose, but are generally not permitted outside their departments when not in use. A miner that doesn't bother removing their rigsuit while making a delivery to science is probably okay as long as they take the helmet off while indoors, a miner sitting in the bar in full suit with a sonic jackhammer on his belt can be told to go stow his gear if he's not using it.
Combat mechs As long as they stay in the science department (or outside the station), not contraband. Otherwise, see above. When making mechs for security, generally a security officer should take delivery of the mech from robotics, rather than the scientist driving it up to security.
Unidentified Grenades Grenades that a crewmember has no reason to be carrying around are most likely contraband, and if discovered during a search should be identified in chemistry. Cleaning grenades are obviously not contraband, nor are metal foam grenades for engineers. Explosives, toxic smoke, EMPs and other weapons are clearly contraband. Pranks like water bombs are probably disturbing the peace. Generally even legitimate grenades should be kept out of sight so as not to cause alarm to other crew.

Usually contraband

These items are almost always considered contraband, though exceptions do apply - a non-lethal weapon is obviously not contraband for security officers, for example, as it falls under "job gear". Standard Operating Procedure covers most such exceptions.

Item Notes
Weapons Any item that has the sole purpose of causing injury to another is major contraband. The chef's kitchen knife is not contraband, an assistant's butterfly knife is. Lethal ammunition also falls under this.
Non-lethal weapons Weapons that are explicitly not capable of causing permanent injury, such as tasers, stun revolvers and hunter guns are minor contraband. Weapons that are capable of being loaded with lethal ammunition are not non-lethal.
Combat Gear Even if not weaponry, equipment intended specifically for use in armed combat is contraband for people with no business getting involved in fights. This includes armour. While someone strapping metal plates to their body for no good reason probably falls under "suspicious conduct" more than "contraband", an actual armour vest such as those issued to security in code green would be considered minor contraband for anyone else, and a heavy armour suit or breacher rig would be considered major. Note that some jobs are issued armour vests as standard, such as the librarian's press vest.
Teleporters Teleporters and translocators are generally major contraband due to their ability to bypass access restrictions. A few personnel, notably the Research Director and Colony Director, are issued with teleportation devices. The RD's bluespace harpoon is fine for them to have unless they use it to commit a crime. The CD has access everywhere so it's literally impossible for them to trespass with it.
Stolen goods Even if someone didn't commit the theft themselves, stolen goods are still considered contraband to handle.

Mitigating factors

Some items are not considered contraband under certain circumstances. Such exceptions include the following.

Situation Description Effect
Possession of a permit The crewmember has a permit for the item. Obviously it's not contraband if they have a valid permit.
Surrender of goods The crewmember is handing contraband goods in to a member of security. Generally only applies if they've not actually used them, but if someone finds a bottle of happy pills in the trash and hands them over to an officer or something similar, they shouldn't be charged with contraband.
Dire need The goods are needed for use in an emergency, such as a crewmember taking the spare ID to rescue someone from a breach. Charges can be dropped, though the goods should be returned once the emergency is over.
Authorised by owner The crewmember is allowed to use the item by someone authorised to have it. For example, if the chief engineer gives someone the station blueprints so they can build a fort, then those blueprints are not contraband. Does not apply to restricted gear such as a miner's drill or explorer's phaser - if the miner can't carry it in the bar, they can't authorise anyone else to. Likewise, weapons still require an actual permit.

Hardsuit Policy

Restrictions and regulations vary from hardsuit to hardsuit. In general, a hardsuit permitted on station should be worn with the helmet down during Code Green if the user is not actively using the hardsuit for job purposes, responding to emergencies, etc. For restricted hardsuits (such as mining hardsuit), it's recommended to question the user what the is using the hardsuit for and remind them not to wear it outside of the intended department rather than immediately pursuing a contraband charge. Most of the time the user is simply making a delivery or forgot to remove the hardsuit.

As hardsuits are often armored and difficult to remove, refusal to remove a hardsuit during an arrest constitutes §202 Resisting Arrest or Sparking a Manhunt. Fleeing an arrest with a hardsuit authorizes shoot-to-disable.

Industrial (Mining) Hardsuit

Intended for mining, the industrial hardsuit is only permitted in the Cargo/Mining department, planet-side mining areas, and off-planet expeditions. On-station it is Minor Contraband and should be confiscated if the user refuses to return it to Cargo/Mining. Generally this shouldn't be applied if the Miner is delivering mining materials or traveling between the station and planet. It is recommended to remind the miner this hardsuit is not permitted on station outside of Cargo/Mining and only pursue §118 Minor Contraband charges if the miner refuses to comply.

AMI (Science) Hardsuit

Designed for protection from exotic energies, the AMI hardsuit is intended to protect xenoarcheologists from the anomalous artifacts they did up. This hardsuit is only permitted in Science, planet-side, and off-planet expeditions. On station this hardsuit is considered Minor Contraband. Like the industrial hardsuit, this charge should not be applied if the Scientist is simply traveling between the station and planet and it is recommended to remind the Scientist not to wear the hardsuit in public instead of immediately pursuing a §118 Minor Contraband charge.

Rescue (Medical) Hardsuit

Intended for EMT's rescuing trapped crew from hazardous situations, this hardsuit may be worn at all times as readiness for emergencies as long as the helmet is kept down when not responding to an emergency. While this suit may be capable of overriding most airlocks, it broadcasts a message over Security and Command radio allowing misuse to be easily caught.

Wearing this hardsuit and not responding to an emergency call (e.g. taking the hardsuit to dorms, wearing it on break and remaining on break during emergencies) may make the user eligible for a §206 Negligence or §302 Manslaughter charge. Obviously neither charge should apply if the user doesn't respond to an emergency if busy with a different emergency.

OOC Note: Basically don't wear this hardsuit if you're looking for a non-interruptible scene. It's fine to roleplay on the job but it tends to frustrate other Medical if they can't respond to an emergency due to you taking the hardsuit and you're not responding.

Advanced (Chief Engineer) Hardsuit

Designed for rapidly responding to supermatter delaminations, this hardsuit is the only way to safely handle active supermatter and/or a damaged supermatter engine. The Chief Engineer may wear this hardsuit at all times with the helmet kept down due to the need for a quick response of the supermatter engine begins delaminating.

Any crew member in possession of this hardsuit other than the Chief Engineer may be guilty of §215 Grand Theft.

Pursuit (Head of Security) Hardsuit

The [Head of Security's|Head of Security] pesonal hardsuit for responding to emergencies and chasing fleeing criminals. This hardsuit is considered combat armor and should only be worn when responding to emergencies (Code Yellow and above) or perfoming EVA. It is technically to the Head of Security's discretion when to wear this hardsuit but casual use (e.g. wearing the hardsuit while hanging out in the bar) is considered an SOP violation and may lead to demotion if abused repeatedly.

This hardsuit is considered Major Contraband when not used as intended (e.g. the Head of Security loaning this to a [Security Officer] and said officer wearing it in code green) and anybody other than the Head of Security may be guilty of §215 Grand Theft if found in possession of this hardsuit.

KWI (Civilian) Hardsuit

As a simple unarmored hardsuit, the KWI hardsuit is essentialy an upgrade to emergency softsuits and is not contraband for anybody. Use of this hardsuit is no more suspicious than wearing an emergency softsuit.

Guide Table
Starter CHOMP-Specific Medical Engineering Science Security Other Development