How to Play as a Guard in Life in Prison

Guards spawn with police kit and a job: stop misbehaving inmates and defend against criminals. The official line is “the prison needs you.” Public servers often treat the role as a free gun dispenser. This page is how to actually hold the building. Pair it with controls (T for siren/gate, F for punch, cam-lock) and the weapon tier list. Inmates reading this as a leak should bounce to how to escape instead.

First thirty seconds

Walk to the armory, not the soccer pitch. Racks hold rifles, a green-camo sniper in the official thumbnail, and first-aid kits. Swat armor, shield, AR-15, and Famas are not on your back at spawn — loot them if you own the pass. Sniper guns need zoom then hold right mouse. Premium adds extra police warnings and special cars; it does not make you immune to reports.

Drop nothing in a doorway. Inmates farm keycards off corpses. If you die, your kit is the riot’s starter pack. See criminals for how they use it.

Innocent versus hostile

Prison sandboxes punish guards who dump unarmed inmates. Players still report that repeated innocent kills can dump you onto the inmate team for the rest of the server. Treat equipped Hammer, guns, or fence-cutters as hostile. Treat a jumpsuit in the cafeteria as not. When in doubt, taser and cuff instead of emptying a mag. Full role notes: guards and inmates.

Tools of the job

• Taser — default identity. Criminals craft a stolen one at the White Tree (keycard trade). Do not donate them a card.
• Police car — T toggles siren and can open a gate. Useful, loud.
• Cam-lock — track a crawler heading to a toilet. That is the Hammer route.
• UFO height — you can fly too if you take a saucer. Do not abandon the armory for a joyride unless the riot already won. UFO guide.

What not to do

Do not inject silent aim or godmode “because I am the cop.” Discord reports land on blue shirts first. Do not type codes into chat. Do not camp AFK at a door unless you enjoy being the people-route on the escape list. Do not shoot the soccer game unless someone pulled a bat from hidden weapons.

Private-server owners already have /cmd. Public servers have peer pressure. After a patch, reread the changelog in case arrest windows change. New guards: getting started then this page. The court sentenced them. You are the timer — act like one.

A four-stop patrol that actually holds a server

Armory, cafeteria windows, yard door, main gate. Walk that square. If you only sit in the racks you will be last alive in a box. If you only sit at the gate you will miss every toilet. Call out tools in chat: Hammer moving, cutter on east fence. That is more useful than a siren. When a riot starts, fall back to the armory together. One hero in the yard is a keycard farm. After you taser, cuff or finish — do not admire the animation. Extra Premium warnings are not a license to spray the soccer pitch. If you get demoted, you now have inmate knowledge. Use it to leave or to ghost the next cop. Read inmates and criminals so you recognize a taxi UFO. This role is a timer with a gun. Keep walking.