Red Dead Redemption 2 contains a wide variety of law enforcement. Players can be pursued by all sorts of law enforcers when committing a crime.
Overview[]
When Arthur Morgan or John Marston commits a crime, it can be reported by an eyewitness to the law; if he cannot stop them, lawmen will appear at the scene. Any bandana or mask hides the player's identity to eyewitnesses. If someone successfully reports a crime, the identity of the suspect may be unknown, allowing the player to escape without incurring a bounty but lawmen will recognize him even if his face is covered. The player's clothing is also a factor. If the townsfolk have seen the player commit crimes in the current clothing previously, they may recognize him regardless of his mask.
There are multiple ways to deal with witnesses: if the witness has seen you commit a crime Arthur can threaten them or kill them to prevent the law coming after him. If a crime is reported but the suspect is unknown, Arthur can defuse any lawman investigating the scene. When a petty crime is committed, Arthur can apologize and leave without more repercussions.
When Arthur caught committing a crime he will get a Wanted Level and a Bounty on his head and will remain Wanted as long as lawmen see him. The higher these are, the more lawmen will join the pursuit. If the Bounty is high enough he will receive the Dead or Alive status in which pursuers will become more aggressive, local lawmen will be replaced by vigilantes and by Marshals and dogs. Bounty Hunters will also be more common.
Arthur can surrender to any lawman if he hasn't initiated a shootout with them yet. It will show a cutscene of Arthur in a jail cell, and eventually being released with funds taken from him, or a Van der Linde gang member will visit to release him. Otherwise, he can pay off his bounty with cash at one of the local Post Offices.
Lockdown[]
Valentine during Lockdown
When committing enough crimes inside a town, it will go into lockdown. While in lockdown all shops and provision areas will be closed and the town will be patrolled by lawmen who will confront the player on sight should they be recognized.
While most towns will come out of lockdown after a certain amount of time, Blackwater will be in lockdown from the beginning of the game and will remain so until the end of Chapter 6 when the Van der Linde gang has disbanded. Attempting to enter south West Elizabeth will result in multiple Pinkertons spawning who will know Arthur's location immediately. Should Arthur attempt to enter New Austin he will be killed by an invisible sniper.
There are also 3 areas under permanent lockdown which are Sisika Penitentiary, Fort Wallace, and Guarma.
The only town with law enforcement that never goes into a lockdown state in free roam is Saint Denis.
Law Enforcement by Town[]
Saint Denis[]
Saint Denis is one of two settlements in the game that has a uniformed police force; the Saint Denis Police Department. The Chief of Police in Saint Denis is Benjamin Lambert. Officers patrol the streets on foot or horseback, and regularly police public areas in great numbers.
Their uniform consists of a blue jacket, black pants and boots, white gloves, and a black custodian helmet. They are heavily armed and carry contemporary weapons.
Blackwater[]
Similarly to Saint Denis, Blackwater has a uniformed police force, known as the Blackwater Police Department. Here, the Chief of Police is Oswald Dunbar. Noticeably, hangings are carried out by an unidentified sheriff.
The department's uniform consists of a dark-blue coat with gold buttons, a badge worn on the left side of the chest, and a black custodian helmet.
Rhodes[]
In Rhodes and the surrounding area, the law is enforced by officers from the Scarlett Meadows Sheriff's Office. The town Sheriff is initially Leigh Gray, but he will be replaced by Harmon Thomas after the mission "A Short Walk in a Pretty Town". Additionally, Grays will still loiter around town after Leigh Gray's death, and they will aid law enforcement.
Valentine[]
In Valentine, the law is enforced by the Valentine Sheriff's Office under the leadership of Sheriff Curtis Malloy. The player can pick up and deliver bounties to the sheriff and his deputies. If the player is arrested in The Heartlands, they will be transported to the jail within the Sheriff's office. After the mission "The Sheep and the Goats", members of Cornwall's security agency will be in the Valentine saloon. They work alongside lawmen.
Strawberry[]
The Strawberry Sheriff and deputies based in the Strawberry Jail & Sheriff's Office enforce the law in Strawberry. Strawberry has its own sheriff's office from where bounties can be started and be delivered. The town's Sheriff is initially Hanley, although he will be replaced by Vernon Farley after the mission "Blessed are the Meek?".
Annesburg[]
Annesburg has its own sheriff who is assisted by a group of deputies as well as the guards of the mining company. The town Sheriff is Jones, who can usually be found in the Annesburg Sheriff's Office.
If the player reaches Guarma through exploits and manages to get arrested (by passing out from alcohol while wanted), they will be sent to Annesburg jail as Guarma has no programming for being arrested.
Tumbleweed[]
Tumbleweed has its own sheriff department which is lead by the town Sheriff, Sam Freeman. He can commonly be found in town preaching about law and order. The local law enforcement was recently based in the Tumbleweed Sheriff's Office, until it was closed due to an incident. Throughout the game, the law operates from the Tumbleweed Jail.
Armadillo[]
The law in Armadillo is enforced by the Armadillo Sheriff's Office, from where a sheriff and his deputies operate. The town's Sheriff is Palmer, although he will either resign after being attacked by the Del Lobo Gang, or be killed by them, depending on the player's actions.
Trivia[]
- Kicking a dead body is not considered a crime.
- Lawmen are shown to wear white hats, which is possibly a reference to black and white hat symbolism in film.
- Crossing state lines during a chase will cause some lawmen to cease pursuit, and exclaim to their fellow lawmen to stop as well. However if they’re close enough to the player they might continue the chase well into the other state. (This could be unintended)
- While Arthur usually mopes in his jail cell before being released, there is occasionally a cutscene where his gang members rescue him:
- In Annesburg and Saint Denis, Hosea Matthews would enter the police station carrying bottles of whiskey, greeting the officers with a cheery "Hello, fellers!". Presumably either bribing the guards, getting them drunk or drugging or poisoning them, Hosea then leaves the police station with Arthur.
- In Valentine, Dutch van der Linde and Charles Smith enter masked and hold a deputy hostage with a Sawed-off Shotgun. They force another deputy to free Arthur, lock both deputies inside the cell and leave with Arthur. They would also blast through a wall in Arthur's cell with dynamite. The trio would escape on horseback.
- In Strawberry, John and Charles enter masked and armed with pistols and a shotgun respectively. They escape with Arthur.
- In Valentine, Dutch poses as Arthur's well-off cousin from Newport. He convinces the guards to release "Tacitus" and leaves with him.
- In Rhodes, Dutch blasts a hole through a wall in Arthur's cell with dynamite. Arthur climbs through the hole and escapes on horseback.
- While John's unique breakouts involve stealing keys from sleeping guards or bribery, a breakout in Blackwater has Abigail Marston storming inside the police station and berating "Jim Milton" before asking a deputy to string him up right then and now. When the deputy is looking away, she hits him with a truncheon, steals the keys and frees John, continuing to berate him as they leave.
- Unarmed assaults in Saint Denis would result in a bounty. For other towns such as Rhodes, Annesburg, Strawberry, Valentine, Blackwater or Tumbleweed would not cause a bounty. The lawmen will ask you to leave the area.
Gallery[]
