Sam

The third edition of our monthly update packs quite the punch. In October, we've been lucky to see some big developments throughout the community, starting with the huge update to the Emergency Uniforms Pack. Not only this, but we've also seen some amazing new vehicle modifications including a police cruiser with funky new animations - working window wipers anyone?! Emergency Uniforms Pack by @Alex_Ashfold For those unfamiliar, EUP is a set of character and clothing components that can be used with the GTA Online multiplayer character models. With EUP, you can essentially create your own police officer for LSPDFR, with much of the same customisation ability that GTA Online offers when creating your Online Character. With the latest edition of EUP, you'll enjoy a massive amount of new police gear to kit up your characters with. There's some really neat stuff in this modification - I'm sure it'll be exciting to see what comes next. Better EMS by @PNWParksFan After the shocking discovery that paramedics in Los Santos are somehow less useful than their counterparts in Liberty City who, to their credit, would actually attempt to save the lives of the people that they had run over (sometimes anyway), @PNWParksFan has clearly been in search of a cure, and what better than the latest update to Better EMS which was released earlier this month. Included with the new version of Better EMS are enhancements to driving intelligence, better response times and a whole bunch of backend tweaks and API additions. If you're looking for a more in-depth Fire or EMS experience within LSPDFR, this is definitely the plugin for you. Animated Police Cruiser by @majorpaine2015 Finally, something which you might not have noticed. This is a quirky vehicle modification that also includes a number of animated features. Included are both working (and controllable) windscreen wipers and windows themselves. Yep, let us prepare for the incoming flood of rain-soaked patrols! It's happening. P.S. A special mention to @Harper who has unfortunately taken ill and wasn't able to post this month's update. We all send our wishes of a speedy recovery

The problem with this is that I've heard of cases where people took similar action (e.g. not stopping immediately and instead driving to a well lit area) and they were either given a very hard time by the cops because of this, or in some cases were actually arrested. One example of this is a nurse that was charged with a *felony* for driving to a well lit area: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ind-nurse-faces-felony-not-stopping-safety-article-1.2171710 The irony of this is that the police department involved actually advised people to do just that! Thankfully the charges were later dropped, although that must have been a horrifying experience.

Anyone that isn't clued in on the intricacies of law enforcement. Which is like... almost everyone.

I'm sure I remember someone pointing out that large parts of that show are scripted. If I remember correctly, there was one scene in Broward where a number of officers are chasing someone on foot and all of a sudden, most of them just start jogging behind or stop so that one of the stars of the show could be filmed making the tackle. If you search around, there's a couple of interesting articles online about the series and some of the advertising, for example, that they used to promote it. As for why they called it that, it's probably a marketing thing. It let them market their show with sex, and regardless of what you think of that, sex sells. Go check out some of the posters, like "Taser Time" and "Cavity Search, Anyone?" that were used to market the show...

The simple reason for those two being missing is that we simply didn't have the time to fit them in. On the topic of frisking people, GTA IV had an animation for this, but GTA V doesn't, so it would have taken us a lot of time to research and try out alternative ideas - time which we thought would be better spent on other parts of the mod as not being able to frisk people isn't exactly as game-breaking as not being able to arrest people (and arresting people is something that required a lot of research and time too). That's not to say that these aren't things that will come later, but these are just some examples of the decisions that we have to make when developing LSPDFR. The upside is that some things being missing has given people like @Albo1125 a great opportunity to have a go at making them themselves.

Congrats on the big milestone, @Albo1125. I know that I speak for all of us on the team when I say that we're both lucky and thankful to have been some of the people to inspire you, but we are the few, and it is now you who is the inspiration to the many.

I believe the title update affects all script modifications, not just those which reference RPH.

No, I was just generally speaking. If everyone behaved like you, we wouldn't have any problems at all. You're well within your rights to be frustrated because your thread was closed, but you were mature enough to not start attacking our staff team because of it, unlike others, which is a credit to yourself.

I mean, here's the deal. This thread went too far with the nonsense. There were pages and pages of it and everything was happening in really quick succession. I've already given examples of what happened in this topic, and none of it is particularly suitable for our forum. I understand that each person has their own definitions of humour, but we also have our definition of what we find to be acceptable and you can find this in our Community Guidelines. Everyone who uses this website has agreed to follow these guidelines, and must also understand that they can and will be held accountable for violating them. It was our opinion that the conduct in this topic in the last few pages violated our guidelines (which it clearly did), and that's why our team became involved. I honestly find it incredibly ironic that in a community which centres around law enforcement topics, people who are generally supportive of both laws and their enforcement, who literally dedicate their entire game towards the police, can have such an issue when we enforce our own rules. If you are of the opinion that our rules are wrong, then that's fine and we're more than happy to discuss them, but it doesn't mean that they need not be followed. Indeed, speaking of opinions, nobody gets banned for sharing them provided that they do so in a respectful manner. Myself and my team do what we do simply out of love for our projects, both LCPDFR and LSPDFR, and that's the reason that we're here. I've dedicated years of my life to doing something that I love and I've been lucky enough to share this with hundreds of thousands of other people too. Given that we put so much effort into these projects and this community, I expect that in return, we are at least treated with a basic level of respect. Nobody needs to agree with the decisions that we take, but the disrespect that people have been displaying towards myself and my team recently is quite frankly ridiculous. The backlash that we've received from people regarding our actions in closing this thread is quite simply stupid, and it's honestly quite painful to see some of the things that people have done since. Nonetheless, we've reopened the thread, removed the spam and are attempting to give everyone a chance to return to normality. As you've said, despite all of the things that have happened here, no warning points have been issued. The only circumstance in which we punish people for giving their opinion is if they fail to afford us the basic respect that is expected of every member and member of staff here. If you'd like to see an example, then here you go: It would honestly be a lot easier for us to not enforce any rules at all - but then we wouldn't have a community which is enjoyed by so many people. Nobody is saying that you can't enjoy yourselves in this thread, we want you to, we're just saying that you can't do it at the expense of others, which is clearly what happens when the memes and insults start to flow. People come here for the great content that our members have to offer, not to look at marker pens in a blender and certainly not to have cancer wished upon them. This topic, which honestly was a fantastic example of what our community is about, quickly turned into exactly the opposite. Now that we've cleaned it up, I hope that it can go back to what it once was.

I too am keen that this doesn't turn into a case of the few ruining it for the many again. Thanks for keeping a level head about this, I'll quickly answer you below, and then let's hope that this thing can get back to normal and you guys can enjoy it again. Well I wish that the answer wasn't no, but it's a little bit more complicated than that. From what I understand, some of the attacks have been increasingly ferocious in their nature and this limit is something that has been effective in stopping them. Hopefully it's something that doesn't last for too long.

It's telling regarding your attitude that you would rather hold grudges than move on and try to be a better contributor. Our staff did nothing wrong in locking a thread that had spiralled out of control, and in the interests of fairness, we took the action to not issue sanctions immediately but instead to carefully review what had happened first instead. As such, this thread is now back, and if you weren't so interested in being part of the problem, but rather wanted to commit to the solution, you might instead be welcoming of this fact and perhaps dare I say it, taking a look at how you can improve your own attitude, rather than resorting to the old adage of "oh but it's someone else's fault". I didn't see ineseri derailing this thread on September 11 with pictures of planes crashing, nor did I see him contributing to the discussion of marker pens. Usually if a topic comes off the rails, it does so for a couple a posts - this went on for over five pages. Thankfully though, I consider this matter to be resolved, so let's give the people their topic back now. If you're not mature enough to do so, please let me know so that we can consider other options. I respect your *previous* contributions to the community, as do many others, no matter how awful your attitude has been as of late. Ultimately though, absolutely nobody is bigger than this community, and if you can't play nicely, you will not be playing at all. Thanks. Let's move on now.

The offending posts have been hidden, so you won't see them when you're looking back through the topic. The reasons for closing it were quite simple though: There were plane crashing memes, posted on September 11th (honestly one of the more disgusting things I've seen). A large amount of spam was posted - I'm not sure what the relation between videos about marker pens in a blender and LSPDFR Australia is. People were making accusations about theft and other violations that belong in the report system, not in public discussion topics that are visible to all. Justin Bieber somehow made his way in, and my eyes haven't quite recovered yet. A number of members seemingly lost the ability to string together coherent sentences and ultimately resorted to communicating in baby-speak. In a passionate display of friendly community spirit, members were wishing gifts such as cancer upon each other. I mean there's more, but I think those six points will do for now as I could actually feel myself losing all faith in humanity while typing them. Indeed, my reaction might best be illustrated by a still frame from the aforementioned marker pen video, which was oh so generously contributed to the topic by @Darkmyre.

I'd show mine but it is entirely unbecoming of the assumptions I can imagine people might have!

More of a Bean Machine kinda guy, quite like the High Noon.

I don't really want to comment on the merit of specific cases, but yes, it is true that there are many cases where the grievances are entirely understandable. Some of the cases that we've seen over the years have been really bad for law enforcement, and there are serious questions that need to be asked regarding them. I hate to say it, but unfortunately there's a flip-side to the part about mentioning statistics about police killings. Again, you're right in that it is disconcerting to see that there are people, especially some on the far right, who treat criticism of the police as being some sort of unpatriotic treachery. Ultimately, criticism of people and institutions is a key part of any society which values the rights of its people. The flip-side, however, is that mentioning statistics about crime in poor, predominantly black neighbourhoods, results in you instantly being labelled as a racist. There will be all sorts of figures, in contrast to the one you've given, which illustrate just how disproportionately black people are more likely to both perpetrate, and be the victims of crime. In Milwaukee, for example, which is supposedly one of the most segregated cities in the US (the I-43/I-94 acts almost as a border between rich and poor), the chief of police quite famously said that 80% of their homicide victims were black and that 80% of their shooting victims that survived were black. Indeed, these figures come from some of the poorest, highest black population zip codes in the state. Of course, any reasonable person understands that it has nothing to do with race whatsoever, but anyone who makes the mere suggestion that there's more crime in these neighbourhoods can expect to be vilified. It seems now that a lot of black people are more concerned with blaming the police though, distracting themselves from the uncomfortable truths about the horrible criminal and gang cultures which have become so endemic throughout cities in the US. In now way am I saying that this is a problem exclusive to certain groups of people, but it seems to me like something which is particularly and disproportionately affecting the young people who grow up in these places, far more so than others elsewhere. Unfortunately, nobody seems to care about the causes of crime, however, and most politicians are more interested in the enforcement aspect - I think this is just one of the many factors as to how we end up here. I do completely agree as well that there are some examples where it does feel like police, particularly in North America, could be perceived to be an occupying force. I think there's definitely been a number of examples of this, perhaps most prolifically in Ferguson where the damming Justice Department report shed light on some of the ways in which the local court system was basically a money making operation. The important thing though is that we are seeing a trend where police are generally becoming more accountable in the US, and yes, it'd be foolish to deny the influence that the recent protests and events and such have had towards this, but I think that it is also important to note that we're probably not seeing the same on the other side. My take is that there could be an entire year where every single police shooting is completely justified, complete with all the evidence to prove it, and there would still be mass protests each time. I think it's great that more and more unjustified incidents are being reported on and the officers involved are being held accountable, but it's a shame that the good cops are being caught up in the middle, and unfortunately it's resulted in this horrible anti-police mentality which has no doubt fuelled the events in Dallas. The problem now, I fear, is that the law enforcement community will become increasingly factionalised, with officers becoming more fearful for their lives and with more officers perceiving other people (very important to note that police brutality is in no way limited to black people) as the enemy. As I said before, when you have more and more people seeing each other as the enemy, you have more trouble.

I think that's quite a blanket statement which doesn't quite convey the observable reality. By all means, the protest in Dallas looked like it was non-violent before the shootings, but I don't think that detracts from the general mood of these protests, which is undoubtedly a demonstration against the police. Having said that, Dallas PD had posted pictures of their officers and protesters posing together for pictures and such during the protests, so there's clear evidence to say this isn't something that applies to everyone. Still, there's nothing particularlly somber about these protests - that's the sort of mood that you would expect at a funeral, not a lively march through the middle of a financial centre. The sad thing here though is that a lot of officers have died, been seriously injured or otherwise affected because of their commitment to supporting the right of these people to protest against them, or at least the institution that they are part of. Even worse, this isn't something that's going to change any time soon. Simply put, as each officer-involved shooting involving a black suspect happened, more and more people became emotionally attached to the argument against the police. As such, you've seen huge movements like BLM form. When people become so emotionally attached to a particular cause, all rational thought is lost. There's no consideration of right or wrongs, and there's no appetite for fact. For these people, each incident, regardless of the facts, is a further provocation against them and a further justification of their beliefs. It's what keeps them going, and it's what ignites their calls for action, and in some cases, violence. Concerningly enough, this incidents marks a clear turning point in the overall picture. The law enforcement community has now become victim to such a devastating loss, and with this loss, the risk of similar emotional detachment grows. Indeed, there's a number of people in the Republican party, presumingly describing themselves as pro law enforcement, who are somehow finding the justification to blame Obama for this. One went as far as posting a provocative message which effectively declared war against him and against the BLM movement. Step back for a moment, and you can soon appreciate the similarity of reactions here. When a black man is shot down by the police, there's a furore of outrage from one side against the other. People start blaming the police, they blame the government, they blame the system. Similarly, in this case, we've got people blaming the protesters, we've got people blaming the government, and we've got people blaming the system. Whether this is the people calling for martial law in this thread, or the politicians declaring war on the president, you've seen this today. It won't change though, and the causes of problems like this extend far from anything to do with law enforcement. Ultimately, all things like this result in are an escalation - the only thing that will change is that more people will passionately support law enforcement and position themselves on one side. Similarly, with each person shot by the police, you'll see a surge in support for those who protest against law enforcement, and those people positioning themselves to the other side. As the number of people united against a particular cause grows, that's good news for them. Let it be known though, it's bad news for the rest of us. Instead of making the tragic mistake of embracing the culture of blame, as tempting as it is, let us instead stand behind the fallen officers in Dallas, unite behind their belief in justice, and hold accountable those who disrupt this, be they officers or not. After all, if we don't stand for justice, then just what do we stand for?

It's a shame the same can't be said for this topic and some of the insensitive stupidity which has taken place throughout. I will personally be issuing sanctions if this continues. @Prophet I was particularly disturbed by the way in which you resorted to an immature attack above. It wasn't exactly behaviour fitting of a former staff member and knowing you like I do, it took me by surprise. There's 50 people that have died in this horrible shooting in Orlando, and yet some of the people here are more interested in advancing their own agendas and attacking others? Disgusting.

Can only imagine if an LSPDFR player in Brussels, of which there are many, were to come on here to get away from it all and when opening this topic instead of seeing simple messages of support and condolences they find that people are more interested in arguing with each other and debating politics. Seriously, get a grip. All of you. My sincere condolences to the people affected by this tragedy.

I'm super confused now!