Security Overhaul

[Lighthawk]

Alright, we all know that Trek security is a joke. The goldshirts, apart from the security chiefs, are about as competant as mall rent-a-cops, and are poorly under-equiped for their duties.

So here comes the hypothetical: You are in charge of Starfleet security now. We're going to focus this thread on the typical security officer. What changes do you make in order to turn these meat shields who couldn't be trusted to watch over a small child into proper ship guardians and warriors?

Make whatever changes you believe necessary, and feesable with Trek tech.

For my own part...

1) Training: A LOT MORE OF IT! We'll start with basic things like Taking Cover in a Firefight 101, to Reporting suspicous activity before wandering off alone to check it out, to hand to hand work. Biggest lesson of all though: When using a weapon that fires a constant stream (just about every type of phaser in existance) don't just aim at one spot, sweep the beam around if it looks like it's going to miss. When your weapon fires in spurts of 3-6 seconds, keeping it aimed over the target's shoulder the whole time is just idiotic, sweep the beam down already!

2) Weapons: Start by ditching the dustbuster hand phasers, and getting these guys proper pistol grip weapons. With easily removable and exchangable power cells. And sighting devices, including: Snap down, fold up iron sights for emergency use. A "laser" sight setting, basically a REALLY low power phaser beam for visual aimming. An auto tracking system that tied into a visor or even an electronic set of contact lenses with a HUD system that follows eye movement to determine targets.

For more serious actions, FC style rifles, with all the above targeting options. Also I'd request SF R&D to design a phaser weapon designed entirely around wide beam shots, a phaser shotgun basically, for close combat room clearing. Also a few grenades would be nice, frag, smoke, gas, EMC...

3) Armor: Get some. All security uniforms should have an underlayer of energy dampening/redirecting mesh. It doesn't have to be enough to let them shrug off small arms fire, but it should at least be enough to let a security officer live long enough to get transfered to sickbay. It should also be doable to have this light armor be able to resist and blunt bladed weapon attacks.

For more serious actions, some real armor would be passed out. Full body, helmet included. Personal shield generators and strength augmentation if possible.

4) Communicators: Replace the badges. Those things are too easily removed. Security coms will be small, pill shaped devices that fit snuggly in the ear, and are controlled with verbal commands. The hand's free operation means as long as you can talk, you can use it, and if you can't talk what's the point? Also as the speaker is in the ear, security commands won't be broadcast for everyone within earshot to hear them.

5) Various goodies
a) Bio sensors: All on duty security personal will have their vitals under constant monituring. If the sensors detect a life threatening reading, they will trigger an immediate and automatic site to site transport to sick bay. And sound a general alert if it has not already been done.
b) Tricorder readings will be able to be displayed in the visor/contact HUD, and will respond to verbal commands. That way security officers can have both hands on their weapon at all times.
c) Security officers visor/contacts will also be able to recieve data feeds from the ship's sensors.
d) Auto-meds: If site to site transport is unaviable, disabled, or if the injury is just not great enough to warrent it but still enough to severly degrade the security personal's performance, he can be adminstered various painkilling and stabalizing medicines by the means of a tricorder sized device intergrated into his armor, which will be tied into the bio senors.

[Deepcrush]

Contact some friends, bring in the Marines (USMC, Royal Marines, ROK Marines are all welcome) and then just point saying "They are bad" and watch as the Marines make them dead.

For computers, install vista. As soon as someone hacks you, their system will crash. Just look for the guy screaming at his computer.

[Vic]

Contact some friends, bring in the Marines (USMC, Royal Marines, ROK Marines are all welcome) and then just point saying "They are bad" and watch as the Marines make them dead.

For computers, install vista. As soon as someone hacks you, their system will crash. Just look for the guy screaming at his computer.

Now this just shows how hard you are Deep, ROKs are just mean on a stick and a pointy stick at that.

[Deepcrush]

Contact some friends, bring in the Marines (USMC, Royal Marines, ROK Marines are all welcome) and then just point saying "They are bad" and watch as the Marines make them dead.

For computers, install vista. As soon as someone hacks you, their system will crash. Just look for the guy screaming at his computer.

Now this just shows how hard you are Deep, ROKs are just mean on a stick and a pointy stick at that.

I know, I've trained with several.

[Captain Seafort]

Overall I think you're looking too much at the high-level stuff, dealing with armed boarding teams rather than day-to-day security. That can be dealt with simply by more secure programming (i.e. don't run alien programming on the main computer), disabling their wi-fi, and installing some basic security around classified areas like the bridge and engineering - doors with swipe card machines, CCTV, some bloke outside the door checking ID (which should be visible at all times), etc.

In response to your specific suggestions:

Snip training and weapons

I agree

Also a few grenades would be nice, frag, smoke, gas, EMC...

Hang on a moment, this is starship security we're talking about, not ground combat. Flashbangs and smoke (possibly with anaesthetic gas) grenades would be useful, but frag and EMP risk damaging the ship.

Snip armour

Agreed, although I think ease of movement and comfortable wear should be prioritised over survivability if there has to be a choice between the two.

4) Communicators: Replace the badges. Those things are too easily removed. Security coms will be small, pill shaped devices that fit snuggly in the ear, and are controlled with verbal commands. The hand's free operation means as long as you can talk, you can use it, and if you can't talk what's the point? Also as the speaker is in the ear, security commands won't be broadcast for everyone within earshot to hear them.

I think headsets with a PTT would be a better bet - small earpieces would be more delicate and easier to loose, and voice activation is slow and is potentially misunderstood, especially in a noisy and confused environment.

a) Bio sensors: All on duty security personal will have their vitals under constant monituring. If the sensors detect a life threatening reading, they will trigger an immediate and automatic site to site transport to sick bay. And sound a general alert if it has not already been done.

Useful, although I think the response should be a local alert and despatching a security team with a medic, not transport and a shipwide alert.

b) Tricorder readings will be able to be displayed in the visor/contact HUD, and will respond to verbal commands. That way security officers can have both hands on their weapon at all times.

Again, there are problems with voice-control in confused environments, and having a HUD floating around in front of your face could be dangerously distracting.

c) Security officers visor/contacts will also be able to recieve data feeds from the ship's sensors.

I agree with the sensor feed, but not integrating them into visors.

d) Auto-meds: If site to site transport is unaviable, disabled, or if the injury is just not great enough to warrent it but still enough to severly degrade the security personal's performance, he can be adminstered various painkilling and stabalizing medicines by the means of a tricorder sized device intergrated into his armor, which will be tied into the bio senors.

No thanks - you'd be better off adding medical personnel to security teams, or even better having two man medical teams within a few minutes of all points on the ship (not difficult with turbolifts).

[Deepcrush]

I agree with Seafort for pretty much everything minus the following...

Agreed, although I think ease of movement and comfortable wear should be prioritised over survivability if there has to be a choice between the two.

In ground combat, mobility is important. In defensive actions such as aboard ship or inside a starbase or facility of any kind. Protection and Firepower should be prioritized over everything else. Comfort isn't really important and since you're counting movement by deck and not by the mile.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Increase the effectiveness and friggin' use of force fields, gas, transporters, jamming fields and the like.

[stitch626]

Increase the effectiveness and friggin' use of force fields, gas, transporters, jamming fields and the like.

This alone could quadruple the security effectiveness.

[Deepcrush]

This alone could quadruple the security effectiveness.

So could a butler.

[thelordharry]

Are we talking TNG:NEM era here?

I wonder if there was a 24th century MACO organisation or if SF security became a 'one size fits all' outfit?

[Mikey]

There was certainly no indication of any type of specific UFP soldiery. But without resorting to the use of technology for which there was no indication of it's existence, I would agree with body armor - there was certainly precedent for it, as show by the use of the movie-era cuirass and helmet combo by security officers.

Much of the rest could be covered by bog-standard municipal police training: don't enter a dangerous situation without backup, make sure an area is secure/covered before moving on, etc.

[Captain Seafort]

There was certainly no indication of any type of specific UFP soldiery.

And, conversely, every indication that they don't exist, given that the infantry company defending AR-558 were bog-standard goldshirts

But without resorting to the use of technology for which there was no indication of it's existence, I would agree with body armor - there was certainly precedent for it, as show by the use of the movie-era cuirass and helmet combo by security officers.

Agreed. Indeed, given the piss-poor performance of Paris' phaser against the artic in Future's End, it's possible that modern body armour would be effective against phasers.

[Coalition]

Are we talking TNG:NEM era here?

I wonder if there was a 24th century MACO organisation or if SF security became a 'one size fits all' outfit?

It fits with their standard response. In Nemesis the enemy boarding party would have been vulnerable to bright lights, so a creative solution (which Starfleet prides itself on, as it is an application of science rather than brute force) would be to turn the lights up to full.

Of course, a few miutes at a sunglasses store would have allowed the actors to pretend they were tactical goggles (to preserve their eyesight, provide maps, tactical plans, etc) and effectively negate this tactic.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Hmm, all right, Resurrect the MACO organization and create dedicated soldiers.

[Mark]

In a day and age of holograms with holo emitters all over the ship, I'd go for a supplemental force of holo-security. Let's look at the benefits.

Immune to most weapons. You'd have to target the emitters which could be protected by a high powered forcefield.

Instant response time. They are where you need them instantly. Plus they could go places other huminoids may not be able to enter.

They can be programmed with increased speed and strength for hand to hand fighting, as well as being able to alter their form (to a certain degree) to adapt to a combat situation.

Morale wouldn't be a problem. They'd fight and hold until the emitters were destroyed, with no need to flee or retreat.