So you've managed to get a crime stat, what do you do now?
Don't Panic
It's not as bad as it sounds! Especially considering if you die to bounty hunters, UEE navy, Station defences or Station guards you're going to jail but you get to keep all your stuff.
The level of crime stat
Crime stat 1 can be paid off. You'll need to look for advocacy terminals. If you're already in space the only place you can go without being shot at is Grim Hex and the advocacy terminals are on the mezzanine floor up the stairs from where the main elevator arrives.
The Grim Hex Mezzanine Floor
Crime stat 2 and more need to be 'dealt with'.
Crime stat 3 and above will attract the attention of player bounty hunters (your bounty will be posted).
Crime stats do not go away by themselves. So if you logoff with a crime stat, you'll come back on with a crime stat.
There is a safe harbor
Grim Hex is the Mos Eislely of Star Citizen. A true wretched hive of scum and villainy. You will be safe there.
If you get caught by player bounty hunters just outside Grim Hex, you will respawn IN Grim Hex even if they kill you.
Dealing with a crime stat 2 and above.
There are a number of ways to deal with your crime stat.
Suck it up and just have fun until you get caught
Choose to go to jail
Choose to hack the advocacy computers and clear your criminal record
When should you go to jail?
For crime stat 2 and 3 you're certainly going to be quicker going through the jail-loop than trying to clear your crimestat. The only exception to this is if you're already carrying a hacking chip and happen to be standing in a location where you can clear your crime stat (see hacking my crime stat).
Of course hacking a crime stat is more fun than going to jail. So it's your call.
Hacking a crime stat - what do you need?
To hack a crime stat you will need a Tigerclaw hacking chip which you can purchase at Technotic on GrimHex, Factory Line in New Babbage or Cubbyblast in Area 18. They can also often be found in bunkers (especially security outposts where you can clear your crime stat).
If you haven't thought ahead before you started your crimewave, then your only options will be Grim Hex or finding a Tigerclaw (or a friend), everyone else will shoot you when you try to purchase one.
Grim Hex Hacking Chips
Hacking a crime stat, where do you go?
The following locations have advocacy terminals that will allow you to hack your crime stat.
Security Post Kareah in orbit of Cellin
Security Depot Hurston-1 on Hurston
Security Depot Lyria-1 on Lyria
Shubin Processing Facility SPMC-1 on Calliope
MT DataCenter 4HJ-LVE-A on microTech
MT SecurityCenter DDV-6 on microTech
There is no right or wrong choice on which one to use, just be aware that:
SPK has turrets guarding the installation, they can be avoided in small ships by flying up the spine of the station and parking under the landing pads. They will not be able to shoot you there. You can also park your ship more than 1700m away from the installation and spacewalk over, that will also avoid turret fire.
SPK is the KNOWN place for clearing your crime stat, if bounty hunters are after you this is the place, they expect you to go.
All other bunkers have guards in them, killing those guards will increase your crime stat dramatically. However, they can be incapacitated which won't have such a negative effect.
It takes time to clear your crime stat, crimes such as homicide take longer to clear than crimes such as GBH, trespass or damage to property!
Hacking a crime stat, I'm at the terminal, what do I do?
Make sure you have equipped the tigerclaw. You can either place it in your hand, or on your belt like a medpen. To select it from your belt use 'c'.
Insert the card in the slot to the side of the terminal, using 'f'. You'll be able to find an inner thought message that says 'Insert'.
Using 'f', follow the instructions on the screen. You will need to confirm the start of the hack, sometimes the hacking may stop and you will need to confirm to continue. When the hack is complete you'll need to exit cryptokey to get into the computer itself.
You can now select each of your crimes and clear them, choosing any of the grounds for dismissal that amuse you. It is advisable to clear the homicides first as these are the ones that push your crime stat up most. When you drop your crime stat from 3 to 2 it will stop being advertised to bounty hunters.
Remember that during the time you are working on the terminal, friendly bounty hunters may be out for blood so keep your eyes open and weapons free!
I went to jail
So, you got to jail, either by trying and failing to clear your crime stat or by choice. The good news is that you won't lose anything you had on you when you came here. Upon release it will all be returned (you'll need to claim your ship though).
You can find out how long you'll be in jail by making your way from your cell down to the central area and query the terminals there.
Again, you now have options:
Logoff for the day (often an option at the end of an evening rampage)
You could escape, but that won't clear your crime stat and needs friends to help you, so we won't cover that here. It's worth doing once though!
Go mining. You have a hand miner which you can use in the mines to collect ore, follow a mining tutorial to learn how to use it. Many of us learned to mine here in Klesher! Depositing the gems that you collect will earn you merits which will reduce your stay.
Do missions. This is the best way to get out of jail fast. You'll find the missions in your mobiglass as usual. If there are no missions available then you may need to swap server to get to one that is serving up missions. Simply accept the missions to repair the o2 generators. The missions will give you a route and a depth, go into the mines, you will see that each of the 3 ways into the mines is numbered - this is the route number. Select the right route, then head on down into the mine, try to look for slightly greenish glows as these are the tunnels that take you deeper into the mine, you'll see numbers over these tunnels and these are the depth. Go to the right depth and look for the red 02 vending machine and interact with the screen to complete the mission. If you're heading deep into the mine, you may need to top up your 02 at a vending machine on the way! Completing a mission gives you merits which will reduce your stay.
One merit is worth 1 second of time, so earning 15000 merits reduces your time in jail by a little over 4 hours... it's quick to get out!
Great post! :)