Hello friends, I was bored and figured I could help people with a baseline competency guide for MP, this guide will go over things the wiki might not cover, common situations to find yourself in, and how to roleplay, so let's get into it.
Make sure to make shortcuts for the URLS on the marine law and SOP pages, listed as
https://cm-ss13.com/wiki/Marine_Law
https://cm-ss13.com/wiki/
As it's much easier to keep track of what you're supposed to do when you can just pull these guides up, if someone asks how you know them without having to double check the books, just tell them you memorized it so good you can just recall it in your head.
Gearing Up/Intro
When you wake up, you're gonna wanna let anyone on the MP channel know you're awake, and head to what I refer to as the MP prep room south or port of the main brig, on the lower deck. In here, you can find forensic equipment, office supplies, and five lockers filled with supplementary MP apparel and gear. Assuming you have everything you spawned with (Uniform, beret, armor, boots, security backpack/satchel, Security belt with a forensic scanner, taser, one handcuff, flash, pepper spray, medium general pouch), grab a second pair of handcuffs and a shoulder holster from the locker. Put the taser in your armor, the scanner in your backpack, the cuffs in your belt, for simplicity's sake I like to order it as cuffs > Pepper Spray > Flash > Stun Baton > Flashbang from least to most forceful.
What you put in your shoulder holster is your business, but I personally use a combat pistol, for the AP. If you encounter xenos on the ship before you have a chance to grab a shotgun a pistol probably won't save you, so don't worry about high damage, if you're in a crowd, you can probably let the marines handle fighting, so you don't need a smart pistol, but if for some reason you are unable to stun or otherwise scare off marines, you are going to need the AP from the combat pistol. Obviously most of the time you shouldn't be using any kind of lethal force on marines or boarders, but you never know what kind of tomfuckery your fellow humans have planned, and it's always good to have a backup panick attack, which is why I typically build it for one handed burst firing, with a reflex sight, recoil comp, and laser sight.
As for headgear, although I am loathe that I can no longer show off my fabulously radiant golden hair, I wear a helmet for surprise bottle attacks...and because the hair clips through everything else like a motherfucker. Your personal results may very, but if you can wear the ballcap, you're a mall cop, if you wear the beret, you're either a baldie or a tool, if you can wear the peaked cap you're either a soviet union/gestapo larper or rex texas, who is arguably both.
Make sure to actually set people to wanted when you need to catch them, add their charges and corresponding info, or at least tell them to the warden so the records can be updated, and set them to incarcerated or released as fitting. With sechuds, you can do this on the fly by examining someone, just make sure to do it before they run off screen and ruin your command bar.
This can be hard to remember, but when arresting someone, you need to at least try the least forceful option (being just handcuffing someone) and tell someone their charges if you can safely do so. There's nothing wrong with flashing someone and dragging their face through the floor to escape an angry mob of marines, as long as you tell them their charges and that they have a right to appeal before you incarcerate them.
On the subject of appeals, typically leave this to the CMP, if they are unavailable, leave it to the warden, if they are unavailable, get an MP or deputy that isn't you to perform it if you are the MP that arrested them, If you are the only one available for performing an appeal, send a fax to high command, and failing that? clearly god isn't on their side, and do your best to fairly hear out their appeal. The specifics for prisoner rights and the appeals process can get kinda sticklery, so make sure you're in the right and clear when one is performed. Remember there's always the possibility that the accused is actually innocent.
Don't quote me on this in public, because I will 100 percent deny it, but if you suspect after the fact you made a key mistake in the arresting or appealing or what have you process....roll with it if possible, and act confident and competent. Chances are unless they or the SEA are a stickler, nobody will notice and therefor, nobody will call admins. Of course don't rely on this, and don't openly break marine law or SOP if you can help it, but also recognize that you aren't perfect and try not to keep yourself to an unrealistic standard. If you have to fail, err on the side of accidentally letting guilty people go free than imprisoning innocent people or keeping guilty people in for longer, because there's a player on the other side and they'll remember how they were treated, also it's kinda a dick move to excessively punish players if they don't deserve it.
During a mutiny, mutineers will have a red M over their name, and can be assumed to be armed and dangerous at any given moment. Never be afraid to use lethal force, or order them to stand down or surrender, and don't ever be afraid to take the opportunity if one of them does. Obviously if the CO orders you to use lethal force and kill mutineers, do so, but remember what I said earlier about not being a dick to your fellow players. If you can tell someone on either side is needlessly going out of their way to perma kill someone, on either side, then ahelp it, especially if that person is incapacitated and unable to fight back, as only the aCO should be executing incapacitated mutineers during a mutiny.
As an MP, the CMP and warden outrank you, not only by grade but by status, as they are commissioned officers, and you are a mere NCO. Insubordination can apply to you if you neglect to follow a lawful order, but don't be afraid to call the CO or fax high command if you believe you are given an unlawful order, as the admins will still nuremburg your ass if you break marine law under your superior's orders. Generally speaking the warden shouldn't be very far away from either brig or medbay as neccesary, so make sure to remind them to stay there if need be, and the CMP can be expected to be uh...anywhere they have access to, and situationally some places they don't, so don't lecture them unless you want a beating. Although you are pretty low on the MP totem pole, you still outrank almost everyone in the platoon, as you are a staff sergeant, and you even take aCO over squad leaders in the event....every single officer, and a handful of SNCOs die before you....yay?
WIP 9/24/20 going to add scenarios, roleplay guide, how to do charges properly, and maybe add an FAQ section.