Getting started
What you need before your first sign in, how access codes decide what you can open, and where each of the four views lives.
PlateNet runs in a browser tab.
What you can open depends on the community you belong to and the access code that put you in it. A code issued for patrol opens the unit CAD. A code issued for dispatch opens the dispatch console.
What you need first
An access code from the community you are joining. Community owners generate these.
Every path that grants access asks you to confirm you are at least 18.
The order things happen in
- Redeem an access code and create your account on the same form. See creating an account and joining a community.
- Save the recovery code you are shown once.
- Sign in. See signing in and password requirements.
- Choose a view from the Portal. See the Portal and the four views.
- In patrol or dispatch, set your callsign and department.
The four views
Patrol CAD is the unit view. You set a status, watch the call list and attach to calls. See the Patrol CAD section.
Dispatch is a separate workspace with call control, unit assignment and, when your community has it enabled, a radio console. See the Dispatch section.
Civilian is where characters, vehicles and firearms are created and where emergency calls are submitted. See the Civilian section.
Community Panel is the administration area for departments, access codes and users. See the Community administration section.
Your records
Records remain available across game-server updates and rebuilds.
How to sign in to PlateNet, what happens after too many attempts, and how administrator issued one time codes work.
Sign in using your username, not your display name. A successful sign in opens the Portal.
Password requirements
The help text under the password field shows the current requirements.
Your password must meet the requirements shown under the field.
Other outcomes
Repeated failed attempts return "Too many login attempts. Try again later or contact a platform administrator."
ACCOUNT CONFIRMATION REQUIRED appears when the Terms or Privacy Policy have been republished since you last accepted them, or when your account has no age confirmation. Tick what is shown and select CONFIRM AND CONTINUE.
SET A NEW PASSWORD appears when an administrator has issued you a one time code.
Administrator issued one time codes
A password issued by an administrator works once. Set your permanent password before leaving the page. If you leave without saving, the one-time code can no longer be used and an administrator has to issue another.
Your new password has to meet the same rules and cannot match the one time code.
Password recovery
A platform administrator issues a one time code, and may ask for the recovery code shown at registration first.
Signing out
SIGN OUT is at the right of the header on every signed in page.
The Portal is where you choose Patrol CAD, Dispatch, Civilian or Community Panel and switch between communities.
Every signed in session starts on the Portal. The Portal displays only the views available to your account.
The four cards
PATROL CAD is the unit view, covering callsign, department, subdivision and status, the call list, queries and Signal 100. A SUPERVISOR badge appears for accounts with supervisor standing.
DISPATCH opens the dispatcher workspace, with Query, BOLOs, Reports, History and the radio console.
CIVILIAN manages civilian records and submits emergency calls.
COMMUNITY PANEL manages users, permissions, departments and access codes. The badge shows OWNER or MANAGEMENT.
Choosing a card sets your active view for the session.
Switching between Patrol and Dispatch
You cannot hold both at once. Entering Dispatch detaches you from your calls and changes what units can do. See Dispatch.
The community switcher
Accounts belonging to more than one community get a Community dropdown above the cards. Changing it reloads the Portal in that community, along with your callsign, department and permissions.
Characters, vehicles, records, calls, reports and BOLOs belong to one community.
The header
The header shows COMMUNITY for the community you are working in, and UNIT for your callsign, or your display name if you have not set one.
Navigation changes with the view. Patrol and dispatch show PORTAL, then CAD or DISPATCH, then QUERY, BOLOS, REPORTS and HISTORY. The civilian view shows PORTAL and CIVILIAN. The management view shows PORTAL and COMMUNITY PANEL.
PORTAL is in every view and is how you change views.
No membership
An account with no community shows "No community membership was found." with a link to redeem an access code.
The MANAGE ACCOUNT panel covers display name, password, interface themes, joining another community and account deletion.
Open the Portal and press MANAGE ACCOUNT. Five sections.
Styling options
Theme settings apply to the current browser and device.
Default is "The standard PlateNet interface." Institutional Light is a "Light agency terminal palette for bright rooms." Neutral Operations is a "Softer mid-tone gray, lower overall contrast."
Color-Vision Accessible applies "Status colors on a blue and amber axis with glyph markers." PlateNet uses red, amber and green for call priority and unit status, and this option replaces that axis.
WCAG Accessible is a "High-contrast palette."
Display name
Display names appear in uppercase. If a display name is unavailable please choose another.
The display name appears on reports as the reporting officer and on person notes when no callsign is set. Your callsign is separate and is set inside Patrol CAD.
Password
Changing it requires your current password. The new one has to meet the same rules as registration and cannot match the current one.
Changing your password signs out your other sessions.
Join a community
Enter a code, tick the age confirmation and press REDEEM CODE. The community is selected immediately and appears in the switcher.
This is the same mechanism as redeeming a code at registration.
Delete your account
Deletion is immediate and cannot be undone.
Confirmation is by typing your account name exactly as displayed, which is your username rather than your display name, then pressing CONFIRM.
If the account owns communities, the warning names them. Those communities are suspended on deletion and stay suspended until PlateNet administration assigns a new owner. Members of those communities lose access while they are suspended.
Patrol CAD
The three panel patrol screen, the toolbar, the banner that follows you onto other pages, and what the unit roster shows.
Patrol CAD is the unit view, opened from the PATROL CAD card on the Portal. CAD in the header returns to it.
The screen has three panels. ACTIVE CALLS with a count, CALL DETAILS, and UNIT ROSTER with its own count.
The toolbar
CALLSIGN / DEPARTMENT opens your unit profile. See setting your callsign and department.
STATUS sets the status other units see on the roster. See unit status.
NEW CALL creates a call and attaches you to it. See self dispatch.
SIGNAL 100 creates an emergency priority-zero call. See Signal 100.
The call list
Each call shows a priority badge, the call type and the case number. P1 and below show red, P2 amber, P3 and P4 green.
The next line shows the location as it was entered, and the age of the call on the right.
The bottom line shows the call status, the department tag and the attached units, or UNASSIGNED. Your own call is badged YOUR CALL and sorts to the top. Signal 100 calls sort above everything else.
The current call banner
Once you are attached to a call, a strip appears under the header on Query, BOLOs, Reports and History. It shows the priority, type and case number, your status on the call, the location, every attached unit with their status, and the most recent call note under LATEST.
It does not appear on the CAD screen, where the detail panel already shows the same information.
The unit roster
Every unit that can be dispatched, whether or not they are on duty. Your own row is highlighted.
Each row shows a callsign, the display name if it differs from the callsign, a SUP badge for supervisors, a department tag and a status. Available units show green, busy units amber, everything else grey.
A second line appears if there is a subdivision or a current case number to show. The roster may also show a STALE indicator when a unit has not updated its call status recently.
Updates
The screen updates automatically without removing text you are currently entering.
The footer line shows confirmations and errors.
Your unit profile holds the callsign, department tag and subdivision that dispatch and automatic assignment work from, plus department access codes.
CALLSIGN / DEPARTMENT in the Patrol CAD toolbar opens the UNIT PROFILE box. Three fields and a code redemption box.
Callsign
Your identity across the community. It appears on the unit roster, on call assignments, as the author of call notes and person notes, on BOLOs you create and on reports you file.
Until one is set you appear as NOUNIT. If a callsign is unavailable please choose another.
Callsigns are per community. The same account can hold a different callsign in each.
Department tag
A dropdown listing only departments you have been granted. It shows No authorized department when you have not been granted one, which happens when the access code carried no department or nobody has assigned one in the users panel.
Your department decides which calls automatic assignment considers you for, and which report forms you get. A department set to Fire / EMS gives the fire and EMS report set instead of the law enforcement one. See report types and forms.
Active subdivision
Optional free text, such as K9, Traffic or CID.
It appears next to your callsign on the roster, and it populates the list dispatchers choose from when requesting a specific kind of unit. A dispatcher can add a requested subdivision to a call, and it shows as WAITING until a unit carrying that subdivision attaches. See call requirements.
Only subdivisions currently set by units who are not off duty appear in that dispatcher list.
Adding a department access code
The box headed "Add department access code" takes a code and adds the department it belongs to without leaving the CAD.
Enter the code and select ADD. A message under the field confirms the department was added, or explains why it did not apply. The new department then appears in the dropdown.
Saving
Select SAVE to update your unit profile.
Errors appear inside the box, leaving the rest of the form as you entered it.
What each entry in the STATUS dropdown means and which one makes you eligible for assignment.
The STATUS dropdown in the Patrol CAD toolbar has six options. Changing it saves immediately and updates the roster for everyone.
The six options
OFF DUTY is the status when you arrive. The roster shows you in grey.
10-8 AVAILABLE is the status that makes you eligible for assignment.
10-6 BUSY shows you as on duty and is not eligible for automatic assignment.
EN ROUTE and ON SCENE describe your position on a call. The call detail buttons set these along with your status on the call. See working a call.
TRAINING is not eligible for automatic assignment.
Eligibility
Having the 10-8 AVAILABLE status is one of two conditions. You also have to be unattached from any call, so setting yourself available while still attached does not make you eligible.
The full eligibility and selection rules are on automatic assignment.
Status on the roster
Available units show green. Busy, en route and on scene show amber. Off duty and training show grey.
See Patrol CAD for the rest of what a roster row shows.
Attaching to a call, marking en route and on scene, adding call notes, detaching, and the disposition prompt when you are the last unit.
Selecting a call in ACTIVE CALLS opens it in the middle panel. What you can do depends on whether you are attached.
Attaching
ATTACH appears when you are not attached and self dispatch is available. See self dispatch.
Once attached
The button row shows ATTACHED as an indicator, then EDIT CALL, EN ROUTE, ON SCENE, DETACH and CLEAR CALL.
EN ROUTE and ON SCENE set your status on the call and your unit status together. Whichever you last selected shows as the active button.
EDIT CALL opens the call type, priority, location and details.
Call notes
CALL NOTES on the right of the detail panel is the running log for the call.
Each note is stamped with the time and the callsign of the author. Notes become the CALL LOG on the history record once the call is cleared.
Unsaved note text remains in the box while the screen updates, and the list stays on the newest entry unless you have scrolled up.
The rest of the detail panel
LOCATION shows the location as it was entered. ROUTING shows the department, any requested subdivision and whether a supervisor is required. UNITS lists everyone attached with their status, with the primary unit badged PRIMARY.
RECORDS appears when a query return has been attached to the call. Each is a button that opens that return. See system returns.
TTS DISPATCH shows the state of the radio announcement when your community has that enabled.
Detaching
DETACH removes you and leaves the call open.
As the last unit on a call you are asked "You are the last unit on this call. Add a disposition and clear it, or keep it open?" ADD DISPOSITION & CLEAR opens the disposition box. KEEP OPEN detaches you and leaves the call unassigned.
Clearing
CLEAR CALL requires a disposition from a dropdown.
Clearing removes the call from ACTIVE CALLS for everyone and files it in call history, where the disposition becomes one of the filters.
Units can create and attach their own calls when no dispatcher is active. The form, the banner shown when it is unavailable, and when it returns.
Self dispatch lets any unit raise a call. It is available when no dispatcher is active.
Creating a call as a unit
Select NEW CALL in the Patrol CAD toolbar.
- Enter a call type. This is the text shown in the call list.
- Choose a priority. The field opens on 3.
- Enter the location - a street, an intersection, or a landmark. Required.
- Add a postal in the box next to it if your community uses them. Optional.
- Choose a department, or leave the default.
- Enter a caller name if there is one.
- Enter a description.
- Select CREATE CALL.
The call appears in the list and you are attached to it.
When AutoDispatch is enabled, the department dropdown shows Automatic. Automatic uses your community's routing rules. See call routing and requirements.
When a dispatcher is active
NEW CALL and ATTACH are unavailable while a dispatcher is active. A banner shows "DISPATCHER ACTIVE - SELF-DISPATCH IS DISABLED. WAIT FOR AN ASSIGNMENT." and calls are assigned to you instead.
Self dispatch is restored automatically when no dispatcher is active.
What remains available
Setting your status, marking en route and on scene, adding call notes, running queries, filing reports and raising BOLOs.
Signal 100 also remains available.
Automatic assignment is separate
Self dispatch controls whether you can create and attach to a call yourself. Automatic assignment controls whether PlateNet assigns other available units to a call that already exists. See automatic assignment.
Signal 100 creates an emergency priority-zero call, attaches your unit and assigns additional units even when automatic assignment is disabled.
SIGNAL 100 is in the Patrol CAD toolbar. It is the only CAD action that asks for confirmation.
Raising one
- Enter your location. Required.
- Enter your street or location. Required.
- Select ACTIVATE SIGNAL 100.
- Answer the confirmation, which asks "Broadcast SIGNAL 100 to all units?"
The call is created and you are attached to it.
What Signal 100 does
It creates a priority-zero call and attaches the activating unit.
Signal 100 assigns additional units. See automatic assignment for staffing rules.
It remains active when ordinary automatic assignment is disabled for the dispatcher session.
Signal 100 priority cannot be changed.
Position in the call list
A Signal 100 sorts above every other call for every unit. Only your own current call appears higher on your screen.
It opens as an active call rather than waiting in the queue.
Clearing
A Signal 100 clears the same way as any other call, with a disposition and CLEAR CALL. See working a call.
Access
Any unit with patrol access can raise one.
Dispatch
The dispatcher workspace, the two tabs, what changes when you enter the dispatch view, and what happens with two dispatchers on at once.
Dispatch is a separate workspace from Patrol CAD, opened from the DISPATCH card on the Portal.
The layout shows ACTIVE CALLS on the left and UNIT ROSTER on the right, with CALL CONTROL in the middle.
Entering and leaving the dispatch view
Entering Dispatch detaches you from every call you were attached to and sets your status to ADMIN. If you were the primary unit, that call no longer has one. The calls stay open.
While you are in Dispatch, self-dispatch is unavailable to units. See self dispatch.
Returning to the Portal, opening Patrol CAD or signing out reverses both.
The two tabs
CAD CALLS is where you start.
RADIO + TTS appears when AutoDispatch is enabled for your community. See the radio and voice console.
Without AutoDispatch, the toolbar shows an amber AUTODISPATCH NOT ENABLED badge.
The toolbar
NEW CALL opens the call form. See creating calls.
With AutoDispatch enabled, RETRY FAILED TTS retries unsuccessful announcements.
AUTO-ASSIGN UNITS THIS SESSION shows YES and NO. See automatic assignment.
A badge on the right shows the radio service status as TTS CONNECTED, TTS OFFLINE or TTS OFF.
Two dispatchers signed in
Both get the full workspace and both can create calls, assign units and use the radio.
Only the first dispatcher on duty can change the automatic assignment setting for the session. Other dispatchers see the buttons disabled with "Only CTRL01 can change AutoDispatch for this session."
Call control
Selecting a call shows EDIT CALL, ASSIGN UNIT, OPEN RADIO CONSOLE, TRANSMIT DISPATCH when the radio service is available, and CLEAR CALL.
The routing editor below covers department, requested subdivision, supervisor requirement and announcement mode. See call requirements.
Call notes work as they do for units and are stamped with your callsign.
The dispatcher call form, the three announcement modes and the supervisor required checkbox.
NEW CALL in the dispatch toolbar opens the call form. It has the same fields units get, plus three dispatcher only controls.
The fields
Call type, priority, location, postal, department, caller and dispatch details. Location is required.
Location is free text - a street, an intersection, or a landmark. Postal is a separate optional box next to it. PlateNet does not parse either.
Priority sets how many units the call requests. When AutoDispatch is enabled the form shows the hint "P1/P2: 2 units" and "P3/P4: no add'tl". See automatic assignment.
SUPERVISOR REQUIRED
Marks the call as requiring a supervisor. See automatic assignment.
On creation
This sets what happens when the call is created. With AutoDispatch enabled there are three options.
"Create, assign and transmit TTS dispatch" creates the call, assigns units and announces it over the radio.
"Create CAD call only" creates the call with no announcement.
"Create and open radio console" creates the call and opens it in the radio entry form with the fields already completed.
Without AutoDispatch enabled, "Create CAD call only" is the only option.
The department field
With AutoDispatch enabled the empty option shows Automatic. Automatic uses your community's routing rules. See call routing and requirements.
Without AutoDispatch the empty option shows No department.
Changing a call after creation
EDIT CALL covers type, priority, location and details. The routing editor covers department, announcement mode, requested subdivisions and the supervisor requirement. See call requirements.
Changing the announcement mode does not resend anything. TRANSMIT DISPATCH does that.
Assign a unit to a call by hand, set the primary unit and detach somebody from a call.
Select a call and choose ASSIGN UNIT. A row opens under the routing editor labelled "Assign an available, unattached unit".
The list
Only eligible units are offered. ASSIGN is unavailable when no eligible units are online, and a unit has to clear or detach before they can be assigned.
The eligibility and ordering rules are on automatic assignment.
Each option shows the callsign, the department tag, the subdivision if one is set, and a reason such as IDLE with a number of minutes, or SUPERVISOR.
Primary
The Primary checkbox sets that unit as primary on the call. Only one unit holds it, so ticking it moves it from whoever had it.
The primary unit is badged PRIMARY beside their callsign in the UNITS row and sorts first in that list.
Detaching
Each attached unit in the UNITS row has a cross. Selecting it asks for confirmation, naming the unit.
Detaching a unit does not clear the call, even when it removes the last unit.
Alongside automatic assignment
Manual and automatic assignment work on the same call at the same time. See automatic assignment.
The routing editor sets which department owns a call, requests a specific subdivision, and marks a call as needing a supervisor.
The routing editor is under the button row in CALL CONTROL. Four controls and a SAVE REQUIREMENTS button.
Department
The dropdown lists every department in your community.
Automatic uses your community's routing rules. Choosing a department explicitly overrides that.
The ROUTING line in the call detail shows the result either way, so you can see which department a call resolved to before units are assigned.
Announcement
Automatic, Manual radio and CAD only, shown when AutoDispatch is enabled for your community.
These match the choices on the call creation form and can be changed at any time. Changing this does not transmit anything.
Requested subdivision
Choose from the dropdown and select ADD.
The dropdown lists subdivisions currently set by units on duty. When nothing qualifies the control is unavailable and shows None available.
Each subdivision you add appears as a tag on the call. Amber and WAITING until a unit carrying that subdivision attaches, then green and ASSIGNED. The cross on a tag removes the request.
You can request more than one, and each is tracked separately.
Units set their own subdivision. See setting your callsign, department and subdivision.
Supervisor required
Marks the call as requiring a supervisor. See automatic assignment.
The ROUTING line shows "Supervisor required" once it is set, so units can see it before they attach.
Saving
SAVE REQUIREMENTS applies the department, announcement and supervisor settings.
Adding and removing subdivisions applies immediately.
Automatic assignment assigns available units to open calls, processes calls by priority, and can be overridden for a dispatcher session.
Automatic assignment assigns available units to open calls without a dispatcher acting on them. Automatic assignment appears only when enabled for your community.
How many units a call requests
Priority sets the number.
- P1 or P2 requests two normal units.
- P3 or P4 requests one normal unit.
- Signal 100 requests three normal units.
A call marked as requiring a supervisor, and any Signal 100, requests one additional supervisor beyond that number.
Units you assign by hand count toward the total.
Which units are eligible
A unit is eligible when it has the 10-8 AVAILABLE status and is not attached to a call.
Department routing limits the eligible set further. A call routed to a department assigns only units in that department. A call routed to a service assigns units from every department of that kind.
Among eligible units, the longest idle unit is selected first.
Supervisors are considered after other eligible units unless the call requires a supervisor, in which case they are considered first.
A user working in the dispatch view is not eligible.
Smart dispatch
Smart dispatch changes which eligible unit is selected. It does not change who is eligible: department routing, supervisor requirements, and the rule that a call waits rather than taking a unit off another call all still apply and cannot be overridden by it.
Turn it on under COMMUNITY PANEL > OVERVIEW > SMART DISPATCH. It is off by default, and turning it off restores the longest-idle behaviour described above exactly.
With it on, each eligible unit is ranked on five things:
- Whether the unit is free right now.
- How close the unit is to the call, from game coordinates reported by the PlateNet FiveM resource. Calls raised in game carry coordinates; calls a dispatcher types do not, and those are simply not scored on distance.
- How long the unit has been waiting.
- Whether the unit's department and subdivision match what the call asked for.
- Whether the call wants a supervisor.
How much each one counts is adjustable under "Advanced: what the ranking weighs".
A unit that satisfies a requested subdivision is always offered before one that does not, whatever the weights say.
Recommended units
Open a call in CALL CONTROL and the RECOMMENDED UNITS list shows the top five, each with the reasons it was chosen: how close it is, how long it has been available, what it matches. ATTACH assigns it in one click.
The list is shown whether or not smart dispatch is enabled - with it off the list is marked PREVIEW, meaning it is advisory and automatic assignment is not using it.
Units already committed to another call appear at the bottom, greyed, with COMMITTED and their status. Attaching one asks for confirmation first.
A unit is re-checked at the moment you attach it. If it went off duty or picked up another call while you were reading the list, the attach is refused and says why rather than going through quietly.
Escalations
The dispatch board raises a notification when:
- A call has had no unit attached for longer than the limit set for its priority. - A unit has been ON SCENE longer than the on-scene limit.
Both limits are set under COMMUNITY PANEL > OVERVIEW > SMART DISPATCH. Each breach raises one notification and writes one note on the call, however many dispatchers are on duty. The notification clears itself when the call is assigned or the unit clears.
Escalation notifications do not require smart dispatch to be enabled.
The order calls are processed
Calls are processed by priority, oldest first within a priority.
A P4 call is skipped while a higher priority call is still short of the units it requested.
A call waits for a unit to become free rather than taking one off a call it is already attached to. Moving a unit between calls is done by hand. See assigning and detaching units.
The session override
The dispatch toolbar shows AUTO-ASSIGN UNITS THIS SESSION with YES and NO. This overrides your community default while you are on duty.
Only the first dispatcher on duty can change it. Other dispatchers see the buttons disabled with "Only CTRL01 can change AutoDispatch for this session."
Setting it to NO stops ordinary calls being assigned automatically. Signal 100 calls continue to be assigned.
When no units are assigned
Check that AutoDispatch is enabled for the community, the session setting is YES, units have the 10-8 AVAILABLE status and are unattached, and the call's department has units on duty.
A call routed to a department with no units on duty stays unassigned.
Choose a talkgroup, build a dispatch from a call, generate the spoken announcement, add tones and transmit it.
The RADIO + TTS tab appears when AutoDispatch is enabled for your community and channels have been loaded.
The left column
CHANNELS lists the available talkgroups, with a zone filter above it. Choosing one shows the zone, channel name and TGID at the top of the entry panel.
ONLINE RADIOS shows affiliated radios.
ACTIVITY shows transmissions as they happen.
Building a dispatch
RADIO DISPATCH ENTRY has fields for Units, Call type, Address, Cross streets, Caller information and Details.
Two actions complete them for you. Choosing "Create and open radio console" on the call creation form, or selecting OPEN RADIO CONSOLE on an existing call.
VOICE selects the voice. REPEAT sets how many times it plays, from 1 to 5.
Generating and transmitting
GENERATE AUDIO builds the announcement and plays it back to you without transmitting.
TRANSMIT DISPATCH generates and sends it. The panel shows TRANSMITTING while it goes out.
STOP DISPATCH ends a transmission in progress.
CLEAR empties the form and unloads the audio.
Selecting transmit while something is still generating tells you to wait or to stop the current dispatch.
Tones
BEFORE and AFTER each have a tone dropdown, a PREVIEW button that plays it to you only, and a TRANSMIT TONE button that sends it on its own.
The right column
TRANSMISSION HISTORY lists what has been sent.
Connection status
A badge at the top right of the entry panel shows whether the radio service is available. The dispatch toolbar shows the same as TTS CONNECTED, TTS OFFLINE or TTS OFF.
When the service is unavailable, transmissions do not go out and calls set to announce automatically report a failed announcement. Use RETRY FAILED TTS in the toolbar to retry unsuccessful announcements.
Announcements made without the console
Calls created with the automatic announcement mode are sent without opening this tab. The call detail panel shows the state on its TTS DISPATCH row along with the channel used.
TRANSMIT DISPATCH on a selected call resends that call's announcement.
Records
Where person, vehicle and firearm records come from, how a query becomes a return you can share, and how flags, BOLOs and warrants relate.
Searchable records are created through the Civilian view. A person exists because somebody made a character. A vehicle exists because somebody registered it.
A community's records start empty. See the civilian side.
The four pages
QUERY searches people, vehicles and firearms and shows the result. See running a query.
BOLOS is the active board, carrying both BOLOs raised by hand and warrants activated through report review. See BOLOs.
HISTORY is the archive of cleared calls with their logs. See call history.
REPORTS has its own section.
All four appear in the header in the patrol and dispatch views. None are available from the civilian view.
How the pieces relate
A search produces a return, which is a snapshot of the record at the time you asked. Returns are private to the unit who ran them.
Attaching a return to a call shares it. It then appears on the call detail under RECORDS for everybody working that call. See system returns.
Flags attach to the record rather than the return, so they follow the person or vehicle. Anyone who runs that record afterwards sees them. See flags and notes.
BOLOs and warrants also appear on returns. A person with an active warrant shows it in their return, on the BOLOs board and in their flags.
Warrants come from reports
An officer files a warrant report, a supervisor approves it, and the warrant becomes active at that point.
Cancelling one is also done from the report. See warrants.
What a unit can change
Any unit in the operational view can add and remove person flags, add person notes, raise a BOLO and add record flags to a vehicle or firearm.
Clearing or editing another person's BOLO requires supervisor standing, as does approving reports.
Three searches sit on the Query page. Partial names and plates match, a single result opens straight away and multiple results give you a list.
The QUERY page shows three search forms down the left side. Each runs on its own.
Person
First name, last name, date of birth and licence number. Any combination works.
Names and licence numbers match on partial text, so BRO finds BROWN. Date of birth has to be exact.
Submitting with all four empty returns you to the page.
Vehicle
Plate, and it is required. It matches partially, so a fragment of a plate returns anything containing it.
Firearm
Serial or make, and at least one is required. Leaving both empty returns "Enter a serial number or make."
Both match partially.
The result
A single match opens the full return immediately, with the notice "1 record found."
Several matches switch the panel to a list headed MATCHING PEOPLE, MATCHING VEHICLES or MATCHING FIREARMS with a count. Each row shows two lines of identifying detail, and rows with active flags are marked.
Selecting a row opens the full return. A BACK TO MATCHES button then appears.
Searches return up to 50 records.
No match
"No matching records were found." appears when nothing matches.
Records are scoped per community. A character in one community does not exist in another, even for the same account.
Where the result goes
Opening a return adds it to the SEARCH HISTORY panel on the right, which holds your last 30 with the type, source and time.
Reading the return, sharing it with a call and flagging records are covered in system returns.
Visibility
Your search history is private to you. Other units do not see what you have run.
A return becomes visible to others only when you attach it to a call.
What a person, vehicle or firearm return contains, how to pin one for later, and how attaching a return to a call shares it with every unit on it.
A return is the result of a query. The panel is headed SYSTEM PERSON RETURN, SYSTEM VEHICLE RETURN or SYSTEM FIREARM RETURN with the subject beside it.
Contents
A person return shows the name, date of birth, sex, height, weight, hair, eyes and address, then the driving licence number and its status. Height is shown in feet and inches.
A vehicle return shows the plate, year, make, model, colour, registration status and owner. A plate flagged as stolen is marked on the plate line.
A firearm return shows the serial, make, model, calibre, type, status and owner.
All three show a FLAGS line when the record has active flags, and an ACTIVE BOLOS block when there are BOLOs or warrants. Warrants are listed first in that block.
The panels below
ACTIVE FLAGS lists what is on the record and allows adding and removing. ACTIVE BOLOS shows warrants and BOLOs in full. PERSON NOTES shows the note history on a person, newest first.
These are covered in flags and notes.
FLAG FOR LATER
Pins the return to the FLAGGED FOR LATER list on the left of the Query page. The button then reads FLAGGED.
The list holds up to 20 and shows the subject, the record type and when it was flagged.
Flagged people also appear in the FLAGGED PEOPLE panel on the BOLOs page, where they can be selected as a BOLO subject.
Flagging is private to you.
ADD TO CURRENT CALL
Attaches the return to the call you are on.
It then appears in the RECORDS row of that call's detail panel for every unit working it, as a button carrying the subject. Anyone on the call can open it, including units who did not run the search.
The line above the buttons shows what a return is already attached to, written as "Attached to" followed by the case numbers.
A return opened from a call is badged CALL RETURN and shows the reading view rather than the editing controls.
SEARCH HISTORY
Your last 30 returns, newest first. Each row shows the record type, the subject, the source and the time, plus ATTACHED when it is on a call and a flag icon when it is pinned.
Person returns collapse to one row per person.
What stays current
Flags and warrants on a return stay current. Adding a flag updates the returns already held for that person, and cancelling a warrant removes it from them.
The rest of the record does not. An address changed after you ran a person still shows the old value on your return until you run them again.
The person flags and the vehicle and firearm record flags, how to add and remove them, and why a warrant flag cannot be removed by hand.
Flags attach to the record rather than to a return. Every unit who runs that person or plate afterwards sees them, on the return and as a marker in the match list.
Person flags
Open a person return and expand ADD FLAG under ACTIVE FLAGS.
- Officer safety
- Known armed
- Known dangerous / violent
- Mental-health caution
- Flight risk
- Gang association
- Parole
- Probation
- Drug caution
- Sex offender
Officer safety, known armed, known dangerous and an active warrant render red. The rest render amber.
Adding a flag that is already active has no effect.
Removing a person flag
Each active flag is a button with a cross. Pressing it asks for confirmation.
A WARRANT flag created by an approved warrant report has no cross. Attempting to remove it returns "Cancel the warrant from its warrant report." It is removed when the warrant is served or cancelled. See warrants.
Vehicle and firearm flags
The same control with a different list.
Vehicles take Stolen, Unregistered, Felony vehicle and Officer safety.
Firearms take Stolen, Lost, Illegal, Evidence and Officer safety.
These are separate from the registration status and firearm status the owner sets. Both appear on the return. See civilian vehicles and firearms.
Person notes
PERSON NOTES on a person return is the note history for that individual. Expand ADD NOTE, enter the note and press ADD NOTE.
Each note is stamped with the time and the callsign of the author. The panel holds the last 50, newest first.
Notes are visible to anybody who runs that person. They are not tied to a call and they do not expire.
Notes cannot be edited or deleted once added.
Where each appears
A flag appears on the FLAGS line of the return, as a chip in ACTIVE FLAGS, and as a marker on the record in a search match list.
Notes appear only on the return. They do not show in the match list or on the BOLOs board.
Raise a BOLO against a person or vehicle from a query result, acknowledge one, and see who is allowed to edit or clear it.
The BOLOS page is three panels. CREATE BOLO, ACTIVE BOLOS and FLAGGED PEOPLE.
The middle panel shows both BOLOs and active warrants, with warrants at the top in red. See warrants.
Selecting the subject
The BOLO SUBJECT field is read only, with the placeholder "Search or import a person below."
Three ways to fill it.
- Use the QUERY block at the top of the create panel and select from the results.
- Press IMPORT RETURN and choose from your last 10 person and vehicle returns.
- Select somebody from the FLAGGED PEOPLE panel.
Ticking OVERRIDE - MANUAL makes the subject field editable for free text. A BOLO created that way is not linked to a record and does not appear on any person's return.
CLEAR SELECTION resets the subject.
The remaining fields
Type. Wanted, Stolen vehicle, Missing person or Attempt to locate.
Priority. High, Medium or Low, opening on Medium. High renders red, Medium amber, Low plain. The board sorts high to low.
Last known street or location. This becomes the LAST KNOWN line on the card.
Description, required.
Press CREATE BOLO.
The board
Each card shows the priority badge, the type, the subject and the age, written as ACTIVE 3H or ACTIVE 2D.
Below that sit the description, the last known location, and the linked person or vehicle when there is one. A person linked BOLO shows the name and date of birth. A vehicle linked one shows the plate, make and model.
The footer names the creator.
Acknowledging
Each card shows "Acked by" and a count, with an ACKNOWLEDGE button when you have not acknowledged it. Pressing it changes the card to "You acknowledged this."
Acknowledging records that you have seen the BOLO. It does not assign you to anything and it cannot be undone.
Editing and clearing
EDIT BOLO and CLEAR BOLO appear only for the creator and for supervisors.
Editing covers type, priority, last known location and description. The subject is locked when the BOLO came from a record, and is labelled BOLO subject (from system return). A manually typed subject stays editable.
CLEAR BOLO asks for confirmation and removes it from the board. Cleared BOLOs stop appearing on returns.
Where a BOLO appears
On the return for the person or vehicle it is linked to, under ACTIVE BOLOS, with its priority, type, description and last known location.
A BOLO created with OVERRIDE - MANUAL has no linked record and appears only on the board.
Raising one from a return
A person return on the Query page shows ADD BOLO under its ACTIVE BOLOS panel, which raises a Wanted BOLO against that person. See system returns.
What happens once a warrant is approved, where it appears, how it is served and how it is cancelled.
A warrant becomes active when a supervisor approves a warrant application. See applying for a warrant for how one is filed.
Where an active warrant appears
A WARRANT flag is added to the person's record in red.
The warrant appears on the BOLOs board above ordinary BOLOs, showing the charge, the description, the subject and their date of birth.
The warrant appears in the person's return, in the ACTIVE BOLOS block, before any BOLOs. Any unit who runs that person sees it.
The WARRANT flag has no remove control. Removing it another way returns "Cancel the warrant from its warrant report."
Serving a warrant
A warrant is served through a later report. Charges added to an arrest or incident report can be linked to an active warrant, and approving that report marks the warrant SERVED and removes the WARRANT flag.
While that report is awaiting review the warrant is reserved against it, so a second report cannot close the same warrant at the same time. A rejected report releases it.
Cancelling a warrant
Open the warrant application. The WARRANT RECORD block at the bottom shows the current status.
While the status is ACTIVE, a supervisor who can review that report sees CANCEL WARRANT, which asks for confirmation.
Cancelling sets the warrant to CANCELLED and removes the WARRANT flag. The report remains.
The three statuses
ACTIVE is outstanding, and appears on the board, in the person's flags and in their returns.
SERVED means an approved report closed it. The report, date and time are recorded.
CANCELLED means a supervisor withdrew it, with the date and time recorded.
Served and cancelled warrants leave the BOLOs board and stop appearing on returns. The report keeps the history.
Who can act
Any unit can file a warrant application. Approving and cancelling both require supervisor standing. See reviewing reports as a supervisor.
Every cleared call with its log, filtered by date, call type or disposition, and how history relates to reports.
HISTORY holds calls that have been cleared. Open calls remain on the CAD screen.
The list
Columns read CASE #, TIME, TYPE, LOCATION, UNITS and DISP. Newest cleared first, up to 100 rows.
UNITS shows every unit attached at any point during the call. DISP shows the disposition chosen when clearing.
Filtering
DATE takes a single day and matches the day the call was created rather than the day it was cleared.
TYPE matches partially against the call type, so TRAF finds TRAFFIC STOP.
DISP matches partially against the disposition.
FILTER applies them. A CLEAR button appears once any filter is set. Filters persist while you move around the site.
The detail panel
Selecting a row fills the right panel, titled with the case number.
TYPE, LOCATION, PRIORITY, DISPOSITION, CREATED and CLEARED sit in a grid at the top. DETAILS shows the description when one was entered.
CALL LOG lists every call note in order, oldest first, each with its time and the callsign of the author.
Nothing in a cleared call is editable.
What the log contains
The log is built from notes added while the call was live. A call worked without notes shows "No log entries", and the record then holds the case, the units and the disposition but no account of what happened. See working a call.
History and reports
They are separate. Clearing a call does not create a report, and filing a report does not clear a call.
Reports can pull a call in. SEARCH CALLS in the report toolbar loads recent calls to import from, and IMPORT ACTIVE CALL imports the call you are currently attached to. See filing a report.
The judicial desk - the docket, the calendar, opening a case, scheduling hearings, pleas, and recording a verdict that reaches the records index.
PlateNet ships an in-game judicial system. It is roleplay, like everything else here - an invented system for an invented community, with no connection to any real court.
Sign in and choose JUDICIAL on the portal. The desk has three screens: DOCKET, CALENDAR and WARRANTS.
What a case is, and where it comes from
There are two kinds and they arrive in completely different ways.
**Criminal cases are opened at the judicial desk, from a document your community has already produced.** They cannot be typed from scratch. At the foot of the docket, OPEN A CASE lists everything eligible:
- an approved arrest report - an active or served warrant - a contested citation
Each document can be opened once. Opening it puts the case straight onto the docket, copies the charges, and keeps a link back to the source, so a case can always be traced to the paperwork it rests on.
An approved arrest report only appears in that list if the **arrestee named on it matches exactly one person record** in your community. A report has no defendant field - its people are free-text rows, because most of them are witnesses - so the desk matches on name and date of birth and refuses to guess between two people with the same name. If a report you expect is missing, open it and import the subject from the records index; it will appear here afterwards. The docket tells you how many reports are being held back for this reason.
Civil cases are filed by civilians, from their own portal, against another character or against a department, and they land on the docket the moment they are filed. See the civilian side.
The lifecycle
Every case moves through the same states, and the docket shows the current one on every row.
| | | |---|---| | ACCEPTED | On the docket. Every case starts here, the moment it is opened or filed. | | SCHEDULED | A hearing is on the calendar. | | HEARD | The hearing happened and was recorded. | | DECIDED | A verdict and, where there is one, a sentence. | | CLOSED | Finished and filed away. | | DISMISSED | Ended without a verdict. |
The counter strip above the docket shows the only three numbers that ever ask for action: how many are open, how many are scheduled, and how many have been heard and are awaiting a decision.
Scheduling
A hearing needs a date and time, a length, a courtroom label and a judicial officer.
Conflict warnings
When you schedule or move a hearing, PlateNet checks the slot and tells you if:
- that judicial officer is already sitting another case then, - that courtroom is already booked, or - a party on this case is due in another case at the same time.
These are warnings, not refusals. You are told, and you decide. A community may genuinely want two matters in one sitting, and a CAD that argues with a roleplay decision is a CAD people work around.
Moving a hearing
MOVE THE NEXT HEARING asks for a reason, because the parties are being told to change their plans and they are shown what you wrote. The old hearing stays on the case file as ADJOURNED with its reason. The calendar shows a moved hearing only at its new time, so nobody plans around a slot that no longer exists.
Pleas
A defendant enters guilty, not guilty or no contest from their own portal, before the hearing. The plea appears on the case and on the docket row, and changing it is allowed - every version is kept, with who entered it and when, and the superseded ones stay visible.
Pleas close once a case has been heard. The plea is part of the record the verdict rests on and rewriting it afterwards would rewrite that.
The judicial desk can also record a plea agreement with its terms, which is a different thing from a plea the defendant entered and is labelled as such.
The verdict
The OUTCOME block takes a disposition and, for a criminal case, a fine, a custodial term and a probation term; for a civil case, a judgment amount. The dispositions offered depend on the kind of case - a civil case cannot end in "guilty".
A conviction is written back to the fictional CRI record. Guilty and no contest add a JUDICIAL DISPOSITIONS block to the person's records return: the docket number, the charges, the sentence and the date. It appears on the QUERY screen and inside the return document itself, and it reaches returns an officer already had open - a records index that only tells the truth to the next person to look is not a records index.
Acquittals and dismissals are not written back. A record listing the cases somebody was charged with and won is a record that punishes being charged.
If a verdict is later changed, the block is rebuilt rather than added to, so the record can go backwards as well as forwards.
Who is told what
| Party | Where they are told | |---|---| | Officers, witnesses, counsel | An EmbedBanner card in the CAD, which stays until acknowledged | | Defendants, plaintiffs, respondents | Their civilian portal, on the JUDICIAL tab |
Both come from the same record, so a notice answered in one place does not come back in the other. A party with no player account simply is not notified - there is nobody to notify, and they still appear on the case.
Every state change is written to the community's audit log.
Reports
Three lists, five statuses and one document panel. How reports move from draft to approved and who can see which list.
REPORTS is a list on the left and a document on the right. The arrow in the tab row collapses the list.
The tabs
MY REPORTS is everything you have filed, in any status.
APPROVAL is the review queue, showing reports waiting on a decision. Supervisors, dispatchers and community managers see it.
ALL REPORTS is every report in the community except other people's drafts, with a status filter above the list. Same audience as APPROVAL.
The tab marked + NEW opens a blank document.
The five statuses
DRAFT is visible only to the officer who wrote it.
SUBMITTED is waiting in the approval queue.
APPROVED has been signed off by a supervisor. Warrants attached to the report take effect at this point.
RETURNED has been sent back with a reason.
REJECTED has been refused with a reason.
Returned and rejected reports become editable again for the officer who wrote them, and both can be resubmitted.
The list rows
Each row shows the report location or case number as its title, falling back to a generated title such as "Incident Report #41" when neither was entered. The status sits beside it as a coloured chip.
The second line shows the report type, the form code, and the date and time of creation. On APPROVAL and ALL REPORTS it also names who filed it.
A reviewed report shows a third line naming the reviewer and the time of the decision.
Review scope
Which reports appear on the APPROVAL and ALL REPORTS tabs depends on your review scope. See reviewing reports as a supervisor.
Which forms you get
Your department decides. A department set to Fire / EMS gives the fire and EMS forms. Any other service type gives the law enforcement set. An account with no department gets the law enforcement set.
You choose the report type within the set, not the set itself. See report types and forms.
Start a report, import the call and the people involved, search penal codes, save a draft and sign and submit it for supervisor review.
Press the + NEW tab. A blank document opens with your community, department and name filled in, and a document control number showing as PENDING until the report is first saved.
The toolbar
REPORT TYPE selects which form you are filling in, and changes which sections appear. See report types and forms.
IMPORT ACTIVE CALL appears when you are attached to a call and shows that call's case number on the button. It pulls the case number, location and details across.
SEARCH CALLS opens the call archive and loads the last 50.
IMPORT PERSON RECORD searches people the same way the Query page does and adds the result to the persons section.
SEARCH PENAL CODES appears on law enforcement forms. It searches by partial code, title, classification or keyword and adds the result to the offences section.
SAVE DRAFT, SIGN & SUBMIT and PRINT sit on the right.
The document
The form is laid out as a paper document with lettered sections. Only the sections relevant to the selected report type are shown, alongside the sections every report includes.
On a law enforcement report those shared sections are "Report Control and Agency Information", then "Offenses / Charges / Violations", "Persons Involved", "Vehicles Involved", "Evidence, Property, and Attachments" and "Disposition, Review, and Certification".
The repeating sections have row limits. Reaching one opens a REPORT LIMIT dialog reading "This section is limited to N entries."
The zoom control in the panel header resizes the document.
Saving a draft
SAVE DRAFT keeps the document at DRAFT. Drafts stay visible to the officer who wrote them.
Submitting
SIGN & SUBMIT signs the report and sends it to the approval queue.
If you left the officer signature and badge fields blank, your display name and callsign are entered for you. On a fire or EMS report the completion time is entered if it was left blank.
Warrant applications are checked before submission and drop back to draft if they are incomplete. See warrant applications.
After a decision
An approved report cannot be edited by the officer who wrote it. A supervisor can send it back.
A returned or rejected report shows EDIT and RESUBMIT. Resubmitting clears the previous review notes, which are shown in the REVIEW RECORD block at the bottom of the document.
Printing
PRINT / SAVE PDF on a saved report opens the browser print dialogue against the document layout.
The ten law enforcement forms and eleven fire and EMS forms, what each adds to the document, and how your department decides which set you get.
Two form families exist. Your department's service type decides which you get. Fire / EMS gives the fire and EMS set. Any other service type gives the law enforcement set.
Each form includes a code shown next to its name in the REPORT TYPE dropdown and on the report list.
Law enforcement forms
- INCIDENT / OFFENSE, code LE-101. Adds "Incident Classification and Initial Disposition", covering crime category, premises type, disposition, injury level, bias motivation, case clearance and victim notification.
- ARREST / BOOKING, code LE-201. Adds "Arrest and Booking Information", covering arrest type, custody status, Miranda warning and search authority.
- TRAFFIC STOP / CITATION, code TR-101. Adds "Traffic Stop and Citation Information", covering stop disposition, detection method, licence status, insurance status and vehicle search basis.
- USE OF FORCE, code UOF-301. Adds "Use of Force Circumstances and Review Data", covering custody result, de-escalation, warnings given and body camera state.
- VEHICLE PURSUIT, code PUR-401. Adds "Vehicle Pursuit Conditions and Termination".
- FIELD INTERVIEW, code FI-501. Adds "Field Interview and Investigative Contact".
- SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT, code SUP-601. Adds "Original Case and Supplemental Activity".
- BOLO / ATL, code BOLO-701. Adds "Be-On-the-Lookout / Attempt-to-Locate Information".
- WARRANT, code WAR-801. Adds "Warrant Information". See warrant applications.
- GENERAL / OTHER, code LE-901. Adds "General Report Classification".
Fire and EMS forms
- EMS PATIENT CARE, code EMS-101. Adds the clinical sections covering assessment, vital signs, treatments and transport.
- FIRE INCIDENT, code FIR-201. Adds "Fire Incident Classification and Command".
- MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION / EXTRICATION, code MVA-301.
- HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, code HAZ-401.
- TECHNICAL RESCUE, code RES-501.
- SEARCH AND RESCUE, code SAR-551.
- FIRE MARSHAL INVESTIGATION, code FMI-751.
- ALARM / INVESTIGATION, code ALM-601.
- FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTION, code FPI-701, which adds the fire code deficiencies section.
- SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT, code SUP-801.
- GENERAL / OTHER, code FEM-901.
Sections every report includes
Both families include a control block at the top and a certification block at the bottom.
Law enforcement reports also always include "Offenses / Charges / Violations", "Persons Involved", "Vehicles Involved" and "Evidence, Property, and Attachments".
Fire and EMS reports always include "Dispatch and Response Timeline", "Property, Occupancy, and Responsible Party", "Vehicles Involved", "Responding Apparatus, Units, and Personnel" and the casualties and damage section.
Row limits
The repeating sections each hold a fixed number of rows. Reaching the limit opens a REPORT LIMIT dialog reading "This section is limited to N entries." for that section.
Changing type on a draft
Changing the report type changes which sections are shown. Content entered into a section that is no longer shown is not part of the document.
The supervisor review block, which actions require a reason, which reports you can review, and how to send an approved report back.
Open a submitted report from the APPROVAL tab and a SUPERVISOR REVIEW block appears under the document, with one text field and three buttons.
Which reports you can review
A supervisor reviews reports from the departments where they hold supervisor standing, plus reports filed with no department attached.
Dispatch access and management access each grant review across the whole community.
A report outside your review scope is not shown, and opening one returns "That report is not available." Supervisor standing is set per department in the users panel.
The three actions
APPROVE signs the report off. It becomes final for the officer who wrote it, and the reviewer fields are completed with your name, your callsign and the time if you left them blank.
RETURN FOR CORRECTIONS sends it back to the officer, who can edit and resubmit.
REJECT refuses it. The officer can also edit and resubmit a rejected report.
Undoing an approval is a supervisor or management power
Once a document is approved it has left the routing chain - it no longer sits at any stage, so the question "who may act on it" is no longer answered by the stage it was at. PlateNet answers it with supervisor or management standing.
That has one consequence worth knowing before you configure your routing:
In a community routed judicial only, a judge can approve a warrant and cannot then return it. The community owner or a manager can.
This is deliberate and it is consistent with how every other approved document behaves - the alternative would be a rule that changes depending on which preset you picked. If you want your judicial desk to be able to reverse its own approvals, give that person management standing in the users panel, or route through supervisor then judicial so a supervisor is already in the chain.
The reason field
Approving with the field empty is allowed. Returning or rejecting with it empty returns "A reason is required to return or reject a report."
The text appears in the REVIEW RECORD block at the bottom of the report.
The certification section
The certification section at the bottom of the document is editable while you review a submitted report.
On a law enforcement report it covers final disposition, reviewer name, review time, review notes and the supervisor signature and badge. On a fire report it covers the reviewer signature and identifier, review disposition, notes and revision number.
Fields left blank are completed automatically on approval. Fields you complete are kept as entered. Officers cannot edit these fields.
Sending an approved report back
An approved report shows SEND BACK FOR CORRECTIONS with a required reason field.
It asks for confirmation, reading "Send this approved report back for corrections? The officer will be able to edit and must resubmit it for review."
This is the only way to reverse an approval.
Approving a warrant application
Approving a report of type WARRANT activates a warrant against the subject. See warrants for what follows.
Approving an ordinary report can also close warrants when the officer linked a charge to an active one.
The WARRANT report needs a subject selected from a person record and at least one charge before it will submit.
A warrant application is a report of type WARRANT, form code WAR-801. It is the only report type that will not submit while incomplete.
Filing one
- Open a new report and set REPORT TYPE to WARRANT.
- Use IMPORT PERSON RECORD to search for the subject and select them.
- Complete the Warrant Information section, including the charge and the description.
- Add at least one charge in the offences section.
- Select SIGN & SUBMIT.
The two checks at submission
Failing either saves the report as a draft instead of submitting it, and tells you which check stopped it.
Without a subject selected from a person record, you get "Search and select a warrant subject before submitting. The application was saved as a draft."
Without at least one charge, you get "Add at least one charge before submitting. The application was saved as a draft."
Your entries remain saved in the draft.
The same checks run when you resubmit a returned or rejected application.
After submission
A supervisor decides the outcome. See reviewing reports as a supervisor.
Approval activates the warrant. What happens then, how the warrant is served and how it is cancelled are covered in warrants.
When both are present, the charge recorded on the warrant comes from the offences section rather than the warrant charge field.
Civilian
Characters, vehicles, firearms and emergency calls live in the civilian view, and everything units can look up starts here.
Every record a unit can look up was created here. A community's records start empty and fill as players create characters.
Every account has civilian access, including accounts that joined with a patrol or dispatcher code.
The four tabs
MY CHARACTERS creates and edits identities. See civilian characters.
MY VEHICLES and MY FIREARMS hold registrations against a character. See vehicles and firearms.
EMERGENCY CALL submits a call into the community's CAD queue. See emergency calls.
The header in this view shows PORTAL and CIVILIAN. A submitted emergency call returns a case number at the time it is sent.
The limits
Five characters per account per community. Five vehicles and five firearms per character. Reaching a limit returns a message naming it.
These are per community. The same account can hold a separate set in each.
What units see
A character becomes a person record on creation, searchable by name, date of birth or licence number. A registered vehicle is searchable by plate. A registered firearm is searchable by serial or make.
Officers can add flags and notes to those records. Neither is visible to the player the record belongs to.
Registration status on a vehicle and status on a firearm are set by the owner, and both appear on the return an officer receives. See flags and person notes.
Deleting
Deleting a character also removes records associated with that character. Review the confirmation carefully. See creating and editing characters.
Build a character, receive an automatically issued driver licence, set which one is primary, and set the licence status officers see.
MY CHARACTERS shows your characters and a count out of 5. CREATE CHARACTER is unavailable at the limit.
Creating one
- First name and last name.
- Date of birth. It has to be before today.
- Gender, male or female.
- Height in inches and weight in pounds.
- Hair from black, brown, blonde, red, gray, white or blue. Eyes from brown, blue, green, hazel, gray or black.
- Race from white, black, hispanic, asian, native american or other.
- Phone.
- Address.
- Select CREATE CHARACTER.
Names and the date of birth are required. Height, weight, hair and eyes are the fields a person return leads with.
Entries appear in uppercase.
The driver licence
A licence is issued automatically when the character is created. It is valid for five years and starts as VALID.
The card shows the licence number and status. The licence number is one of the fields an officer can search a person by.
Licence status
The edit box has a License Status dropdown with VALID, SUSPENDED, REVOKED and EXPIRED.
You set this yourself. It appears on the DL STATUS line of any person return.
The licence number itself cannot be changed.
Editing
EDIT reopens every field, and changes apply to the person record immediately.
A return an officer already holds keeps the earlier details until they run the person again.
The primary character
The first character you create is marked PRIMARY.
Primary decides which character is preselected on the emergency call form.
Tick MAKE PRIMARY on a different character to move it. Only one character holds it.
Deleting a character
DELETE asks "Delete this character and all vehicles and firearms assigned to it?"
Deleting removes the character and everything attached to it. That covers the vehicles and firearms registered to them, the driver licence, any flags officers added, any person notes, any query returns and any BOLOs raised against that person.
Register a plate against a character, set registration status including stolen, and register firearms that receive an issued serial number.
Both belong to a character rather than to your account. Five of each per character.
A character is required before either tab will register anything.
Registering a vehicle
- Select the owner from your characters.
- Enter the plate.
- Enter the year, which defaults to the current one.
- Enter the make and model.
- Enter the colour.
- Press REGISTER.
Plates are unique within the community. A plate already in use returns "That plate is already registered in this community." Communities are independent, so the same plate can exist in two.
The list shows plate, year, make, model, colour and owner.
Registration status
EDIT on a vehicle adds a Registration Status dropdown with VALID, STOLEN, EXPIRED and SUSPENDED.
The owner sets it, and it appears on the REGISTRATION line of any vehicle return. STOLEN also marks the plate line itself and flags the record in an officer's search results.
Officers can separately add a stolen flag from their side. See flags and person notes.
Registering a firearm
- Select the owner.
- Enter the make and model.
- Choose the type. Pistol, rifle, shotgun or other.
- Enter the calibre.
- Press REGISTER.
The serial number is issued rather than entered, and it is what officers search by.
Firearm status
EDIT on a firearm changes the status only, from VALID, STOLEN or UNREGISTERED.
The serial, make, model, type and calibre are shown as read only. Correcting any of those means deleting the record and registering it again.
Status appears on the firearm return, and STOLEN flags the record in search results.
Deleting
Both lists show DELETE with a confirmation reading "Delete this vehicle?" or "Delete this firearm record?"
Deleting removes the record, so an officer running that plate or serial afterwards gets no result.
Deleting the character that owns them removes both. See creating and editing characters.
Civilians submit calls into the CAD queue with a caller, a type, a location and a description, subject to a wait between calls.
The EMERGENCY CALL tab submits a call into the same queue dispatchers and units work from. It is handled the same as a call a dispatcher raised.
Create a character before submitting a call. See creating and editing characters.
Submitting a call
- Select the caller from your characters. The primary character is preselected.
- Choose the emergency type. Medical, Fire, LEO or Other.
- Enter the street or location. Required.
- Describe what is happening. Required.
- Press SUBMIT EMERGENCY CALL.
The status line confirms with "EMERGENCY CALL RECEIVED" and the case number.
What the type does
It sets which service the call is aimed at. Medical goes to EMS, Fire to fire, LEO to law enforcement, and Other to the community's default department.
It does not set a priority. A dispatcher sets that, and can also change the department. See creating a call from dispatch.
Your character's name and phone number are attached as the caller information.
The wait between calls
After you submit a call, SUBMIT EMERGENCY CALL is unavailable for a short period. A countdown shows the time remaining.
Submitting during the wait returns "Please wait before making another emergency call."
After submitting
The call appears in ACTIVE CALLS for every unit and dispatcher in the community. Depending on the community's configuration it may be assigned automatically, announced over the radio, or left for a dispatcher. See automatic assignment.
None of that is visible from the civilian view.
What units receive
The location and the description, along with the caller name and phone number from the selected character.
The JUDICIAL tab - your cases, the notices the judicial desk sends you, entering or changing a plea, and filing a civil case against another character or a department.
Your community can run a judicial system, and JUDICIAL is your side of it. It is roleplay - an invented system for an invented town.
The tab carries a number when the judicial desk has sent you something you have not read.
Judicial notices
Summonses, hearing dates, reschedules and outcomes appear at the top. An unread notice is highlighted; MARK ALL READ clears them. Nothing is deleted - the case itself is the record.
If a hearing moves, the notice tells you the new time **and the reason the judicial desk gave**. That is not decoration: you are being asked to change your plans and you are entitled to know why.
My cases
Every case involving any of your characters, whether you filed it or somebody filed it against you. Each card shows the docket number, where the case has got to, the next hearing if one is listed, your plea if you have entered one, and the outcome once there is one.
Entering a plea
If one of your characters is the defendant on a criminal case, the card carries a plea control: guilty, not guilty or no contest.
- Enter it before the hearing. The judicial desk is told as soon as you do. - You can change it while the case is still open. Every version is kept and the judicial desk can see the history, which is the point - a plea that could be quietly swapped would be worth nothing. - Pleas close once the case has been heard.
A plea only ever appears on your own character's case. There is no way to enter one on anybody else's, from any screen.
Filing a civil case
FILE A CIVIL CASE brings a matter to the judicial desk yourself. You need:
- which of your characters is filing - a case is filed by a character, not by an account; - one respondent - either another character or one of your community's departments, not both; - what the case is about, in a few words; - what happened, in your own words; - what you are asking for - an amount, an order, an apology.
Filing puts the case straight onto the docket. The judicial desk is told at once, and every update after that - a hearing, a decision - reaches you here.
Each character may have up to five open cases at a time. Wait for one to finish before filing another.
What you cannot do
- File as somebody else's character. - File against a character or department in a different community. - Have a character sue itself. - Touch another player's case, or another community's docket, in any way.
These are enforced on the server, not by the form, and every one of them is covered by an automated test that runs against a real server.
Who else sees it
A case is a public record inside your community: the judicial desk sees the docket, and officers involved in the case are told when it is scheduled or decided. A conviction is added to your character's records index, so an officer running the name will see it. An acquittal or a dismissal is not - being charged and winning does not go on your record.
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