Police Chief Layout Guide: Clearing Debris and Optimizing Workstations

To prevent operational delays in Police Chief, immediately clear physical garbage from your station floors and arrange your essential workstations in a direct line near the main entrance. Leaving debris on the ground or placing furniture in high-traffic hallways disrupts AI pathfinding, causing officers escorting suspects to freeze, collide, or reset their movement routines.

Clear Floor Debris First

Before buying new equipment or expanding your precinct footprint, manually inspect the lobby, intake zones, and room corners for clutter.

Remove trash and boxes: Interact with piles of garbage and clutter scattered across the floor to remove them.
Clear navigation corridors: Pay close attention to narrow pathways between the entrance, office desks, and holding cells. Even minor items stuck in corners can break AI movement calculations.
Verify clear pathways: Walk your player character through intake routes to ensure there are no physical obstacles remaining on the floor.

Optimize Workstation Layouts

Arrange key clerical terminals to reduce the distance officers must travel while transporting detainees or submitting paperwork.

Workstation	Recommended Location	Operational Reason
Booking Desk	Adjacent to the main entrance	Minimizes transport time from patrol vehicles to initial suspect intake.
Filing Cabinets	Directly beside desk workstations	Eliminates extra walk time when officers submit routine paperwork.
Officer Desks	Formed in linear rows	Maintains wide, straight hallways for uninterrupted AI travel.

Fix Interaction Prompts and Alignment

If you cannot interact with a desk, terminal, or piece of equipment:

Check your distance: Move your character closer to the specific object. Standing too far away creates "dead zones" where radial menus and interaction prompts will not activate.
Adjust your camera angle: Look directly at the target item to ensure the interaction prompt registers correctly.
Step sideways: If the prompt fails to appear while facing the item, shift your character slightly to the left or right to clear any overlapping interaction boundaries.

Prevent AI Pathfinding Bottlenecks

As you add more terminals and expand your precinct footprint, keep your room layouts simple:

Remove non-essential decorations: If officers begin stuttering or dropping suspect escort paths, clear out optional decorative furniture to open up extra floor space.
Keep corridors open: Do not place chairs, side tables, or extra equipment along the direct walking route between holding cells and processing desks.
Consolidate before expanding: Keep your operations in a compact, well-organized footprint until your booking pipeline runs without delays. Test new furniture arrangements by watching your officers navigate the path during active intakes.