

To stop any pursuit, the player must lose their wanted level. The higher is the wanted level, the more the police want the protagonist dead, and so the more are the resources mobilized. It is an indicator which appears on the HUD (usually in the top-right corner). When the protagonist is wanted by law enforcement, they will earn a wanted level. Some offenses are specific from a game: for instance, drug dealing in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Also, cops will often appear (almost always as antagonists) in some scripted missions. In every Grand Theft Auto game, cops will pursue the player for the following offenses: discharging a firearm, stamping or smashing a police car, killing an NPC, setting fire on an area with a Molotov cocktail, detonating a grenade, exploding vehicles, crushing many pedestrians, stealing a car (or attempting to do so - in the case of some locked vehicles) or trespassing some restricted areas (like Area 69 in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas). For instance, crossing a red light (even recklessly) in car won't make policemen pursue the player (even if the protagonist is guilty of causing the accident), but discharging a firearm in public or near a cop will. Policemen on foot and police squads will often appear in the streets of the Grand Theft Auto's world, and will spot any player who commits a "major" offense. That said, not all police officers of the GTA universe are depicted in a negative way, as technically, the police are actually heroes while the protagonist of each game is a villain. They are featured in every GTA game, and thus will often try to arrest or kill the player.Įven though they're supposed to help citizens and keep order in the streets, policemen are often presented as violent, corrupt and overzealous who are not afraid to abuse their authorities. Like in real life, the police are a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, as well to prevent crime and civil disorder.


They are the main antagonists in the original Grand Theft Auto, its two London DLCs, Grand Theft Auto 2 and Grand Theft Auto Online, and central antagonists in every other entry. 4.11 San Andreas Police Department (3D Universe).4.3 Liberty City Police Department (HD Universe).3 Notable GTA characters in the police force.
