Street Criminals

Street Criminals are NPCs that are programmed to commit crimes.

A Police Biker fighting a street criminal in GTA San Andreas.

They have been featured in the series since Grand Theft Auto 2. They create a more "complete" environment in the city by simulating typical street crimes.

GTA 2

The street criminals in GTA 2 come in two varieties; car thieves and pickpockets.

The car thieves wear a green shirt and will usually steal any civilian or gang car that they can access, including the player's vehicle. Although the police make no attempts to stop car thieves, if a gang car is stolen, nearby gang members will open fire or chase the stolen vehicle. They will usually abandon the vehicle after a few minutes and run off to steal another.

The pickpockets, on the other hand, are distinguished by their red short-sleeve shirt and white undershirt. They will steal money from anyone on the street, including gang members and the player - usually uttering the phrase "Gimme your wallet!". Unlike the car thieves, if an on-foot police officer sees them committing crime, they will chase after them. Gang members also don't take kindly to being pick-pocketed and will usually open fire on the thief.

GTA III

A pickpocket close-up in GTA III.

The criminals in GTA III come in two varieties. One of the criminals looks strikingly similar to members of the Southside Hoods, except he has a different face texture and wears a brown jacket, as opposed to the Hoods' red or purple jackets. The other criminal wears a hat, a black shirt with white sleeves, and blue "camo" shorts and is a white male.

Much like in GTA 2, they will steal any civilian or gang vehicle that they can access, including the player's vehicle. They can also be seen pickpocketing pedestrians (including each other, although the criminals who have been robbed will strike up their fists and stand) - who usually run away or chase and fight them. If you point your gun at them, they will give you the money that they robbed from the pedestrian.

Unlike in GTA2, and later games, the Police don't give chase to them, and instead, pedestrians themselves give chase.

GTA Vice City

Like in previous games, the criminals in GTA Vice City come in three varieties; one is a black man with a black leather jacket, blue jeans, black gloves, and white sneakers. The other is a white man with a reddish-colored leather jacket, blue jeans, and black shoes. The last one, although the rarest of the three, is a Hispanic man, resembling a Pimp, with a red leather jacket, black pants with red leather stripes, and a sombrero. They can often be seen in groups in the North Point Mall at night, except for the Hispanic man, in and outside the mall. They really don't rob people of their money, rather, they will steal any civilian vehicle that they can access, including ambulances, helicopters, and the player's vehicle. They will not attempt to steal motorcycles, scooters, gang cars, law enforcement vehicles, or fire trucks. However, if a police officer sees them car-jacking, or just walking in general, they will attempt to stop them - the player is rewarded a "Good Citizen Bonus" of $50, if they choose to help the officer. (There is a glitch where the player can repeatedly stomp on the criminal and receive the $50 bonus until the body disappears, even if the criminal is dead.)

Members of the Patrol Invest Group also don't take kindly to them and will sometimes try to shoot the street criminals, but only If the street criminals attacks them.

The cops pursuing them can be up to three officers against one street criminals (More If there are S.W.A.T, FBI or even the Army) and they will not give up pursuing them unless the protagonist Tommy Vercetti commits a hostile action near a officer pursuing them, and the cops will immediately turn against Vercetti instead. In fact, all law enforcement in Vice City will pursue them, similar to gang members.

GTA San Andreas

Los Santos Street Criminals

The criminals in GTA San Andreas will try to steal any vehicle, including the player's vehicle, however they will not steal any law enforcement vehicles. They may have hidden weapons, such as a knife or a pistol. Like in GTA Vice City, if a police officer sees, they will attempt to stop them. Unfortunately, the player no longer receives a "Good Citizen Bonus" for helping the officer, in fact, the player is more likely to attain a wanted level by doing so, possibly because it's considered interfering with police affairs. Nevertheless you can still help the police by blocking the criminal's car with your own or bike or even kill the criminals when out of the cops' sight.

There are four criminals that can be found throughout San Andreas. The first one is a black male dressed in a dark blue checkered shirt, a gold chain, forest-green chonglers, and white sneakers, and is mainly found in Los Santos. The second one, also found in Los Santos, is a hispanic male wearing sunglasses, a plaid tan shirt worn in a "cholo' style, khaki pants, and black sneakers. The third one is a San Andreas Biker, a white male with sunglasses, a gold chain, fingerless gloves, a leather motorcycle jacket with a gray T-shirt underneath, tan pants, and motorcycle boots. The fourth and final one is a white male who appears to be a punk rocker, sporting a red mohawk, a customized motorcycle jacket with a gray punk rock T-Shirt underneath, tattooed arms, ripped jeans, and maroon combat boots. The punk is the rarest of them all, exclusive to Las Venturas and only spawning at night.

Another San Andreas fight between a street criminal and a police officer

Crack Dealers can also be seen throughout San Andreas. They are identifiable by their clothes and their actions. They wear either jeans and a black tank top or a light-grey hooded jacket. They stand in the same place for a long period of time and deal to other pedestrians. They carry a Pistol and a large amount of cash.

A fight between an FBI Agent and a street criminal

Although not necessarily "criminals", road ragers are also a fairly common sight in San Andreas, particularly in rural areas. If someone crashes into them, they will exit their vehicle and attempt to fight/kill the other driver. Sometimes they will be armed with a melee weapon, such as a shovel, golf club or a baseball bat. If they are successful in killing the other driver, they will usually just get back in their car and drive away. Occasionally, a police chase may randomly appear between armed felons in a car and police officers. The armed felons will do a drive-by at the cops during a chase.

A SWAT member fighting a criminal

A police chase may also start if a motorist hits a police vehicle whether it be accidental, bad driving, on purpose, poor patience or caused by someone else pushing the car. The police will give chase to whoever hit their car and will attempt to stop them. Once they are stopped, the police will attempt to drag the pedestrian out of his/her car and will open fire on him/her regardless of if they are armed or not. Police will also shoot members of certain gangs on sight unless they are in a vehicle.

Sometimes a police officer can be seen running after a random NPC (who can be heard screaming and saying things like "I didn't do it!" or "It wasn't me!"), however, unlike Vice City, when the officer catches up to him/her he will then simply walk away. Strangely, the NPC will still run away screaming.

A police biker fighting a criminal

Random NPCs may attack an officer for some unknown reason and the officer will take out a pistol and shoot at his attacker. However, the NPC may have a weapon of his/her own.

GTA Liberty City Stories

The criminals in GTA Liberty City Stories come in at least two different varieties; one has light skin and wears a grey hooded shirt, a blue jacket and green pants, while the other has dark skin and wears a blue and brown jacket, dark pants and a dark hat.

A large amount of them appear in Bedford Point, although they also appear in other parts of the city. Like in the previous two games, the criminals are often chased by police officers, and the $50 "Good Citizen Bonus" for helping the officer to stop the criminal returns having been absent in GTA San Andreas.

GTA Vice City Stories

In GTA Vice City Stories, there are two varieties of street criminals. One has a vest and t-shirt with trousers. Another one, which is much rarer, sports a hat, a vest and 50's pants. If you help the cops to fight the street criminals, you will receive a $50 Good Citizen bonus.

You can also encounter them during Taxi missions, requesting you to stop at a business for them to rob. No Good Citizen bonus can be received, instead, the player gets a 2 star wanted level.

GTA IV

In GTA IV, the cops are much more vigilant and will try to arrest anyone who commits a crime, including anyone who tries to attack the player. After they have been arrested, the suspect is taken to the nearest law enforcement vehicle, including ones that the player has saved by parking on one of their parking spaces.

However, they tend to simply drive around, instead of taking the criminal to the nearest police station. Some criminals may also try to run away while the officer is escorting them to a police car. If the criminal is armed but not aggressive then the police officer will confiscate the weapon and say things like "A concealed weapon, huh? That's another crime to add to your sheet." or "Carrying a weapon in this town is a felony."

If the criminal is armed and aggressive they will attack the cops and the cops will arm themselves and try to kill the criminal, the cops can also call for some reinforcement, or If there is a shooting between the cops and the street criminals nearby a Cop Car with an officer inside, then the cops inside the car will also go out and shoot at the street criminals.

If there is a police helicopter nearby, the helicopter will also stop where the shooting is taking place, although they don't usually shoot and they often tend to crash, certainly meaning that the criminals took the helicopter out of the air.

Like in GTA San Andreas, if the player tries to help an officer, they are more likely to attain a wanted level but they can still trip the criminal up and the police will thank the player if done.

For some reason, if they see a street vendor attacking the player they will not arrest them but instead open fire despite the fact they don't have any weapons. This also includes security guards, bouncers, the clerk at a TW@, and the security guard at Perseus.

GTA V

Street criminals also appear in GTA V. Street criminals in GTA V range from random hoods, to gang members and they are always armed with a weapon. When traveling around, a random police pursuit will sometimes occur in the player's vicinity. Police will usually tail the suspects before engaging in a chase with them. Once a chase has been initiated, the criminals will attempt to ditch the cops. Sometimes the player may stumble upon a chase already in progress. if the police smash into the players car the player receives a wanted star even though the collision was the fault of the officer, but only if the player was moving at the moment of collision.

Also, the player can sometimes come across the aftermath of a police chase, with the criminals engaging in a gunfight with officers. If the criminals crash their vehicle or are boxed in by police, they will exit the vehicle and begin shooting at the police. Since the police use the Cover System to attack, they usually kill all street criminals at the scene, instead of the other way around (street criminals killing off all cops). However, on a rare occasion, the hoods will kill the officers pursuing them and then flee the scene.

Street Criminals also appear as random, minor enemies of the player in the game. Street Criminals usually appear robbing someone's car or wallet. The player then has the choice to either ignore the street criminals or go after them and beat them to a pulp, or kill them, and then either give back the person's wallet or car or drive away with the person's belongings. They'll appear as red dots in the maps while hostile.

Some street criminals may also try to steal cars, and kill or beat up other peds who run into their cars or themselves. In the re-release, gang members in hoods are more volatile and will respond to threats more quickly. On a rare occasion, some street criminals may try to steal the player's vehicle. 

In GTA Online, a driver in a black Sentinel XS is seen driving past the player in a reckless manner and would either pose as a threat by engaging in a gunfight or run away from the player to avoid combat. The driver can also drive other vehicles such as the Patriot, Tailgater and the Dominator, but is always seen driving the black Sentinel XS, and the NPCs for the black Sentinel XS are randomized. The police will also use their megaphone (like they always do) to tell the street criminal to stop their car.

Gallery

GTA III

GTA Vice City

The two Los Santos criminals.

A San Andreas Biker in Glen Park, Los Santos

A Las Venturas criminal (this one is rare and the most difficult to find, only appearing at night)

A pimp of GTA San Andreas only seen in the vigilante missions. This can be considered a street criminal too, once he attacks policemen.

A Los Santos biker fighting with a mechanic.

A Hispanic Los Santos criminal (right) fighting with a woman.

Trivia

• Street criminals may steal vehicles which the player abandoned, including heavily damaged or already on fire vehicles. This may result in the vehicle exploding right after they have obtained it, and trying to flee.