Security in Probably Stolen: inspections, investigation, fines and arrest

Security punishes you in two ways. Routine inspections search your store for contraband and stolen goods, and a hidden investigation (the Security Record) collects evidence about crimes you commit by selling illegal goods. When the investigation reaches 100, an officer visits with a fine, an arrest or an execution. Your Security reputation decides how often and how harshly this happens.

How do inspections work?

Routine inspections only begin once your suspected trafficking and fencing crimes reach 50 credits or more. Before that, no routine inspection is scheduled, and with the VIP perk (Security reputation 100) they stop completely.

After each inspection the next one is rolled from a cooldown in days. The more trafficking you have on record, the shorter it gets:

Trusted (60 reputation) adds 2 to 4 days, No Stone Unturned (−80) removes 1. The network upgrade Inspection Early Warning Service (Joe Wild, 300 credits, nightly fee) warns you 3, 2 and 1 days ahead, but not about surprise inspections. Putting contraband or high-Heat stolen goods in the display case triggers an extra inspection instead (see store appeal).

The inspector searches your inventory, counter, back area, display case and trash can. A Lazy Security Inspector skips the trash can, and a Shady Security Inspector offers a bribe. Levels, markups and hiding places are in the Black Market and contraband guide; the short version is that the highest level found decides the outcome.

Reputation lost per inspection is 1 plus the item’s level for each item found (more for valuable stolen goods), capped at 25. A clean inspection gives +3. The Clemency upgrade (Joe Wild, 250 credits) turns one arrest from an inspection into a warning. Stolen items are only found with a chance equal to their Heat, so a cold item often survives.

How do bribes work?

If the inspector is shady and you can afford it, you can pay instead of being searched. The price is 100 + 2 × the day − 2 × your Security reputation, kept between 40 and 400 credits. It ends the inspection but counts toward a Bribery record: every 250 credits paid adds a 250-credit Bribery of Security Personnel crime (the paid total fades by 5 a night). Once Bribery on your record reaches 500, Security stops sending shady and lazy inspectors and every inspector is a normal one.

What is the Security Record and the investigation?

Selling illegal goods adds lines to your Security Record, the document that shows Suspected criminal activities, the assigned case officer, recommended action, active operation, Investigation progress and the expected sentence.

Customers from other factions reduce what counts: sales to Black Market customers count half, Revolution one third, Sector 13 Cartel nothing, and Lower Levels customers half with the Tight Lips perk. The starting perk Intimidating cuts crimes by a third; Blabbermouth adds a third.

Each night every crime line drops by 20 credits, but only while investigation progress is below 80. Progress rises by the total suspected value:

Trusted halves this, Watchlist multiplies it by 1.2, Most Wanted by 1.5, and the Upper Levels perk Petition to Security by another 1.5. The case officer changes with the total: Cadet Jeff (under 300), Officer Valentine (under 850), Detective Huang (under 1,500), Inspector Page (under 2,500), Chief Inspector Carlson.

What happens when the investigation reaches 100?

At 100 an officer visits. By the total suspected value:

• Under 300: a fine equal to the total. Pay it and the record is wiped (−10 reputation). If you cannot pay, you are arrested.
• 300 to 1,499: arrest, which ends the run (Arrested ending).
• 1,500 or more: execution (Executed ending).

If the evidence was removed before the officer arrives, the case collapses but you lose 20 Security reputation.

How do I lower an investigation?

• Wild’s Fixers (I to III: 350, 450, 550 credits, nightly fee). Each night every crime line shrinks by 15, 20 or 25 percent plus 50, 150 or 400 credits.
• Evidence Removal (Joe Wild, 500 credits, 14-day cooldown, +100 credits per use). Resets investigation progress to 0 but does not erase the listed crimes.
• Sell less contraband and move it through Black Market customers (half weight) or the Underground Exchange, which Security does not track.

How do I gain and lose Security reputation?

A passive source: put an Alarm Transmitter Module (100 credits, sometimes in Dr. Jackson’s stock) into the Alarm System. While the alarm runs, it gives +1 reputation per night to the faction it transmits to, at the cost of −50 Efficiency. Toggling the module cycles the target: Security, Black Market, Upper Levels, Revolution. A second transmitter on the same faction adds nothing.

Difficulty scales gains and losses (for example Red Ink doubles losses). The perks run from Requisition Order (0) and Security Surplus (20) up to VIP (100). Negative ones are Watchlist (−20), Must Be The Wind (−40, Security ignores alarms), Most Wanted (−60), No Stone Unturned (−80) and By Any Means (−100, immediate arrest). See the full perk table.

Which permits matter?

• Business Permit. The Mentor warns you on day 24. The Trade Board Official first visits on day 38, then every 7th day. The fee depends on difficulty: 500 (Price Gouge), 1,500 (Mark Up), 2,000 (Thin Margins), 3,000 (Red Ink). Later visits also accept a donation of goods instead. Refusing records Operating Without a License.
• Weapon Permits I, II, III. Joe Wild sells the upgrade (300, 600, 900 credits), but the permit only arrives at 20, 50 and 80 Security reputation. It makes Low, Mid or High firearms and ammunition legal to hold (markup halved) and is revoked if reputation falls below 0, 30 or 60.

FAQ

Can I avoid inspections? At 100 Security reputation, yes. Before that, keep trafficking totals under 50.

Does a bribe clear my record? No. It adds to Bribery.

What is Heat? A value on stolen goods that sets how often they are found.

See also

• Black Market and contraband
• Reputation
• Network upgrades
• Joe Wild
• Endings