--- title: ROB RUN Cops Guide: Badges, Pay, Arrests and Cop Limits description: How cops work in ROB RUN: joining at the station, gear and Police Badges, how cops are paid, bribes, respawn rules after the launch patch and the cop limit per city. url: https://robrunwiki.org/looty-bay/cops/ --- case #4: the other side # ROB RUN cops: how playing police works **Short answer:** every cop in ROB RUN is a real player. You pick cop or criminal each time you enter Looty Bay; cops sign on at the police station, get state gear and a car, and risk none of their own equipment. They earn from a cut of confiscated goods, arrests and bribes, which pays less than crime. Since 4 November cops respawn more slowly and fresh servers give patrol cops pistols only. ## How do you become a cop? The cop-or-criminal split exists only in Looty Bay. Kefir's FAQ says that every time you enter the city you can choose either role, or look around first. To play cop, drive to the police station and start a shift: you are issued standard gear and a basic vehicle. Kefir's story is that the department was so short of staff it hired "anyone with a pulse". _[Image: Two armed police officers by their cruisers outside the Emporium store]_ _Patrol at the Emporium: state gear, state car. Official screenshot, Kefir (Steam store). _ ## How are cops paid? - **Confiscations:** officers get a cut of the goods they seize. After the shift you hand in your badge and the seized contraband drops to you; you then have to sell it like any criminal would. - **Arrests and salary.** Kefir cut the number of Police Badges that come from salaries on 4 November. - **Bribes:** cops can let suspects walk for money. In the playtest, a criminal with a bank account paid the bribe by transfer. Cops do not risk their own equipment on shift, and Kefir says their rewards are "noticeably lower" to balance that. Players who need money fast still rate cop shifts as a decent solo income. ## What gear do cops get, and what are Police Badges? Cops start with standard-issue gear and trade **Police Badges** for top-tier equipment. The launch patch changed this: - Badges can now be **bought**; which ones you can buy depends on the district you live in. - Far fewer badges come from looting and salaries. - On a fresh server, patrol cops only have **pistols**. Better gear unlocks as the server gets older. That is why a criminal on a two-day-old server can meet a cop with an SMG while starting with a pistol themselves: the server's age, not the role, sets what cops can use. ## How do cop respawns and arrests work? Cops respawn right in Looty Bay. Since 4 November their respawn time is longer and grows with each consecutive death, so cops cannot simply swarm a robbery with numbers. Kefir's stated aim is for cops to stay "a serious threat to most criminals" rather than targets for one-player massacres. Cops can only shoot criminals; players report that shooting civilians does nothing. A criminal who surrenders loses only the bag; equipped gear stays ([what you lose](https://robrunwiki.org/looty-bay/notoriety-and-jail/#losses)). ## How many cops can be on a ROB RUN server? Kefir has not published a number. Several players in the first launch days report a cap of **four cops per city**, and threads asking to bring more cops back suggest the limit was lowered at launch. If the cop slots are full, you play criminal until one opens. We will update this when Kefir confirms the figure. ## Watch it in game - [We were terrible criminals, so we became cops | ROB RUN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NrfHxR0oew) ellisdee4 and FailedReality · playtest build jump to [25:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NrfHxR0oew&t=1512s), [36:37](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NrfHxR0oew&t=2197s), [37:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NrfHxR0oew&t=2239s) - [What you need to know about ROB RUN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_xmXZV_2yw) Callmetrouble87 · playtest build jump to [08:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_xmXZV_2yw&t=523s), [09:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_xmXZV_2yw&t=544s), [11:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_xmXZV_2yw&t=694s) - [How to start playing ROB RUN: everything about the game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMTuEPaUs_c) Wudjer · early access build jump to [01:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMTuEPaUs_c&t=101s) - [ROB RUN 1st heist tips & tricks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2pedaX_tYI) Christian Wise · early access build jump to [03:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2pedaX_tYI&t=214s) Checked 2026-11-06 against the Early Access build (launched 4 November 2026). [How this wiki checks facts](https://robrunwiki.org/about/#how). ## More Looty Bay guides - [Beginner guide What to do first in ROB RUN: leave prison, find Lenny, make your first cash from dumpsters, get a pistol, rob a small store, sell to a fence and get out alive. open the file →](https://robrunwiki.org/looty-bay/beginner-guide/) - [Heists How to rob stores and houses in ROB RUN without bringing the police: alarms, hostages, cameras and back doors, plus what keys, drills and glass cutters open. open the file →](https://robrunwiki.org/looty-bay/heists/) - [Selling loot Where to sell loot in ROB RUN, what goes to the fence and what to the smuggler, how cargo works, and how players avoid being killed at camped sell points. open the file →](https://robrunwiki.org/looty-bay/selling-loot/) - [Notoriety, death & jail What you lose in ROB RUN when you die, surrender or get arrested, how the mask and Notoriety work, what being wanted means, and how prison sentences build authority. open the file →](https://robrunwiki.org/looty-bay/notoriety-and-jail/)