Proposal to Balance Crime Probability

[strategwindow]

Currently, the crime system in Cities: Skylines II does not function realistically. There are very few criminals, crimes are rarely committed, and the police do not patrol, making them an almost useless service. Police cars only respond in emergencies, which are extremely rare.

In real life, no city is crime-free, no matter how well-managed it is. Social and individual factors always lead to some level of criminal activity. That’s why I propose a more balanced system that ensures a minimum level of crime in every city while making police management more meaningful.

Main Points of the Proposal:​

1. Ensure that police patrol actively. All available police cars should constantly be on patrol instead of waiting at the station.
2. Adjust the probability of becoming a criminal. Even in a well-run city, crime should always exist to some extent, based on education levels, happiness, and living conditions.
3. Introduce modifiers affecting crime rates. Factors like unemployment, homelessness, lack of water or electricity, high taxes, and previous imprisonment should influence the likelihood of turning to crime or reoffending.
4. Rework the effects of security infrastructure. When it says -5 crime or -2 crime, we don't know what units they are, while other times it says -8%. I propose putting a few single units, a multiplier.

In the table are the factors that I think should be included, although most of them are already implemented, they are internal and the player cannot see them, and they would probably have to be modified, in order to meet the aforementioned objective.

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Example Calculation for a Well-Managed City​

Let's take an ideal city with 200,000 inhabitants, 1% unemployment, only 1% homelessness, happy citizens, and a highly educated population.

Using the new system, the probability of becoming a criminal would be distributed as follows:

• 40% of the population has a university degree → 3.5‰
• 20% has higher education → 4.25‰
• 18% has secondary education → 5‰
• 12% has primary education → 6‰
• 10% has no education → 7‰

This results in a base crime rate of 4.57‰.

Adding the unemployment effect (x2 for unemployed citizens), the rate slightly increases to 4.62‰.
Considering homelessness (x2), the rate rises further to 4.66‰.

In total, this would amount to approximately 932 criminals in a city of 200,000 inhabitants.

With this system, even a perfectly managed city would still experience some level of crime, making police presence essential and crime management a realistic strategic challenge.

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This proposal would not only make the game more realistic but also improve the balance of security and crime mechanics, ensuring that police services play a more active and necessary role in city management. Because with what we currently have, it's a whole service that's not functional. And a lot of buildings that are unused.

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If you liked this proposal, please give it an upvote. Whether you liked it or not, I encourage you to share your opinions!

 

[TrevorHall]

In total, this would amount to approximately 932 criminals in a city of 200,000 inhabitants.

With this system, even a perfectly managed city would still experience some level of crime, making police presence essential and crime management a realistic strategic challenge.

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This proposal would not only make the game more realistic but also improve the balance of security and crime mechanics, ensuring that police services play a more active and necessary role in city management. Because with what we currently have, it's a whole service that's not functional. And a lot of buildings that are unused.

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If you liked this proposal, please give it an upvote. Whether you liked it or not, I encourage you to share your opinions!

The exact calculation may be different, but the concept is valid. There is plenty of available crime stats for major cities, which could also be used to validate the ratio of criminals to people. As of today, the game is massively off track.