Sci-Fi Police of the year 2049 AD

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by hal

Part of me is undecided about computer hardware. Do I leave the hardware in the "Shop" (ie SUV) or do I have the police officer carrying a light weight computer on his person that is capable of running Complexity 5 software for optical recognition or not.

I'd strongly suggest leaving it in the vehicle. Price is a big deal when it comes to equipping a police force. A light weight (by which I assume tablet weight or lower, that is a Small Computer or smaller) C5 computer at TL9 costs at least twice as much as a comparable dedicated computer (Personal Computer) you can keep in the vehicle. A cheap, heavy computer (Slow Microframe) may be even better - the vehicle probably won't notice the +36 lb of the larger computer, but the department's budget will certainly notice being half the cost.

That's if you want a separate, dedicated system. More likely, the computer running the vehicle's other functions (most notably the drones, which will have all of their processing handled by the vehicle's computer to keep costs down) will have processing power to spare (if using a normal C6 microframe, a C5 program uses up only 5% of its processing power).

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I'd strongly suggest leaving it in the vehicle.

I'd leave everything but the Autopilot back at Precinct HQ. This includes the drone management and the optical recognition. TL9 AI has low IQs in all but the largest units and that means they have low PER scores too.

If you try and field "vanilla" Combat Androids with their C6 Microframes runnign NAIs the rules give then PER 8. Give them a +4 TDM for "find the doorknob" and it's still only a 75% probability. You need C8 for PER 12 and I'd want higher for a theoreticaly important system.

Run all the drones and the optical recognition from a very large and expensive unit in a command bunker somewhere. If the comms get cut off between it and the field units you know where to send the SWAT team whcih is not abad description of a beat cops job in such a setting.

[hal]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I'd strongly suggest leaving it in the vehicle. Price is a big deal when it comes to equipping a police force. A light weight (by which I assume tablet weight or lower, that is a Small Computer or smaller) C5 computer at TL9 costs at least twice as much as a comparable dedicated computer (Personal Computer) you can keep in the vehicle. A cheap, heavy computer (Slow Microframe) may be even better - the vehicle probably won't notice the +36 lb of the larger computer, but the department's budget will certainly notice being half the cost.

That's if you want a separate, dedicated system. More likely, the computer running the vehicle's other functions (most notably the drones, which will have all of their processing handled by the vehicle's computer to keep costs down) will have processing power to spare (if using a normal C6 microframe, a C5 program uses up only 5% of its processing power).

Pricing the computers from GURPS ULTRATECH, I get these two models - one that I know my one player will want to get for himself when/if he gets the funds for it.

Tiny: Base Complexity 3 at TL 9, modified to Complexity 5 via Genius chip - cost is $50 x 500 = $25,000. Toss in an armored case, and the price goes up a little bit more.

Small Computer: Base complexity 4 at TL 9, modified to complexity 5 via Fast Chip is $100 x 20 = $2,000.

If you harden the computers, that drives the cost up by a factor of 2.

Now - for my own campaigns, I don't permit the use of "printed" options for computers. That doesn't mean that other GM's can't use it for their own campaign.

I will take a moment here and point out the following - in light of Fred's post at 1:24 PM...

I use GURPS VEHICLES in my campaign despite using GURPS 4e. I particularly loathe the concept of building robots with character points. That is why I made the effort to integrate the GURPS ROBOTS rules for use with 4e. So when I talk about computer systems and software and AI - I'm not using the "build with character points" rules, but instead, essentially GURPS ROBOTS modified.

[hal]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

I'd leave everything but the Autopilot back at Precinct HQ. This includes the drone management and the optical recognition. TL9 AI has low IQs in all but the largest units and that means they have low PER scores too.

If you try and field "vanilla" Combat Androids with their C6 Microframes runnign NAIs the rules give then PER 8. Give them a +4 TDM for "find the doorknob" and it's still only a 75% probability. You need C8 for PER 12 and I'd want higher for a theoreticaly important system.

Run all the drones and the optical recognition from a very large and expensive unit in a command bunker somewhere. If the comms get cut off between it and the field units you know where to send the SWAT team whcih is not abad description of a beat cops job in such a setting.

There is something to be said about having a major computer running optical recognition at the headquarters. In my campaigns, each police officer who wants to tie into the network at the police headquarters, is going to require a data link software package to handle computer communications with the net itself. Data-link permits the sharing of information between two systems, and I'd largely expect it requires radio communications links to join them up.

But, be aware, that I use GURPS ROBOTS rather than the build with Character points approach. And if you listen to KROMM, Robots as Characters are not supposed to have their IQ's limited by the complexity of their host computer. If you look at it properly, you could have a computer whose complexity is 3, but have an IQ of 14 and Perception of 18 if you wanted. You just pay more for that AI because of the point costs involved with high attributes.

I don't agree with KROMM's reasoning for why Robot characters should be able to overcome IQ limited by Hardware, but he's the lead guy on the GURPS line - what he says goes as far as "Rules as written". Me? I ignore it entirely...

;)

None the less, today's functionality with Drone flying is such that you can automate it sufficiently for it to fly in formation without a sophisticated AI. Currently, there are ongoing experiments with Unmanned Flying Drones that will fly in formation with a piloted jet, and follow pre-programmed instructions as an aid for the human pilot. If we're at the stage of actively experimenting with it, I largely suspect that 30 years from now, we'll have drones that have matured to function rather nicely in a war theater. Will it be the AI's as GURPS ULTRATECH envisions? Will they truly be autonomous? Probably not.

<Shrug>

[Black Leviathan]

Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1

All of this sounds extremely dystopian to me. That's not to say it couldn't be true in this setting, or even that it couldn't happen in real life, but it really rubs me the wrong way.

Make no mistake its dystopian, but that's the course of law enforcement. When the role of your organization is the uphold the law but not to create it, you are almost sure to fall under a corrupt apparatus. But personal liberty would have significant impact on technologies like this and in how free the police are to use lethal force. If your game setting had civil uprisings then allowing the police the power to take control of commuter cars to apprehend suspects or reduce public risk might not make as much sense.

[Black Leviathan]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

À propos, since last week my driver's licence has been an app on my smartphone that displays my photo and a QR code. The app will also scan the QR code on any other state licence and verify it with an on-line database.

I think we'll see more of this in future years as well. Vin numbers aren't very easy to read, easier to scan a chip in your car. Same with serial numbers on firearms, chip verification of your police or other emergency badge. Your insurance card. Anything a cop would have to go back to their car and call in would probably handled by a scanner on their field computing gauntlet.

[hal]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

I think we'll see more of this in future years as well. Vin numbers aren't very easy to read, easier to scan a chip in your car. Same with serial numbers on firearms, chip verification of your police or other emergency badge. Your insurance card. Anything a cop would have to go back to their car and call in would probably handled by a scanner on their field computing gauntlet.

Consider this appropriated. :)

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

If the comms get cut off between it and the field units you know where to send the SWAT team whcih is not abad description of a beat cops job in such a setting.

Until block gangs start jamming comms anytime a patrol car enters their turf.

Also, such turf is probably heavily decorated with high poles, wires and nets to catch passing surveillance drones.

[hal]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Until block gangs start jamming comms anytime a patrol car enters their turf.

Also, such turf is probably heavily decorated with high poles, wires and nets to catch passing surveillance drones.

Much of what you write is worthy of consideration, and it almost makes me wonder if we should have a thread titled "Sci-Fi criminals of the year 2049" or perhaps "Sci-Fi Criminals (TL 9)"

Either way - it would make sense to keep both elements in mind.

For now, pushing this further a little, where I am at design wise is that the Police force will use "Body Computers" in addition to "pads" and smart phones. They will wear body armor that looks like a coverall uniform that provides DR 20 overall, DR 10 if chinks in armor shots are attempted, and provide for the ability to have a sealed suit environment for times when Tear/CS Gas is used against rioters and the like.

Recon drones (small affairs really) will be controlled by the main computer aboard the car itself for car patrols, or MIGHT be controlled by the personal computer worn by the police officer.

The question now becomes one of:

Which is more important - having more bodies on the street with minimal equipment, or having fewer bodies on the street and better equipment (the cost of equipment cutting into the overall budget that provides for wages).

Speaking of which...

TL income in GURPS is for TL 9 is typically supposed to be 3,600 per month. A police force that numbers say, 1,000 people, would have a payroll of around 3.6 million per month (some struggling police wages would fall under the 3,600 per month, some higher ranking officers would make more than 3,600 per month). That's not cheap. Then you have uniform/armor that runs $3,000 per, and that becomes an outlay of $3 million. Add in the 2 Million for personal body computers, and that's a fair chunk of change right?

In the end? When discussing what is possible, as mentioned elsewhere - some police departments may end up with better equipment while others struggle to get by with older equipment.

[AlexanderHowl]

Remember, that is GURPS $. The vast majority of rookie police officers in the USA make much more in 2019 $.

Equipment budgets are an important line item, which will probably be one of the reasons why the primary weapon may become DE weapons like Electrolaser Pistols. While they have a high upfront costs, they have practically no ammunition cost, which allows police officers to go to the gun range every week for a couple of hours without breaking the bank. It is possible for a police officer to go through 1000 bullets during a two-hour firing session, including the time for reloads and breaks, which would be $280 in 10mm ammunition a week. After just six weeks, the Electrolaser Pistol would be cheaper than the 10mm Heavy Pistol.

Of course, some departments might instead go for a Tangler Pistol instead. While the range is worse, the 25mm ammunition offers a lot of versatility. It can fire shapecharged rounds as well as tangler rounds, giving police the ability to take down vehicles or capture suspects with the same weapon. At $2.4 per round though, practicing is expensive even with standard ammunition, so it is better to practice just enough for familiarity and just practice with normal pistols.