Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

33 Achievements

1,000

30-35h

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Serial Offender

Serial Offender

Get arrested 50 times.

20

How to unlock the Serial Offender achievement in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Definitive Guide

Easy way to grind getting arrested- First of all, get arrested on the street once. Easiest way to do this is to punch a cop on the street, then enter a vehicle near him. He will pull you out and arrest you. You will now be infront of the police precinct. Now that you are here, enter the building. It will be filled with police all the time. Once inside, simply punch a police officer and stand still. He will either arrest you right away or beat you with a night stick until you have a pint of health left. You will get arrest EVERYTIME! Once arrested, it'll spawn you infront of the precinct. Turn around and go inside. Simply repeat this 50 times and the achievement will pop. It's recommened to do this early because when you get arrested, all your weapons will be gone. Any questions, please comment.

ALSO! As EpicHonor said in the comments, try to do this BEFORE you do all 12 levels of Paramedic/Ambulance missions. This will give you more health and will take much longer getting this!

Please thumbs up this solution if it helped smile
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26 Oct 2014 18:10

26 Comments
Nice find
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By Spilner on 26 Oct 2014 19:12
I recommend doing this before the level 12 Paramedic achievement since you will have less health.
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By Barely Pro on 26 Oct 2014 23:34
@EpicHonor Adding that to the solution! Very true!
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By South Park TFBW on 26 Oct 2014 23:50
Great solution man. A couple of things I have noticed. Firstly the potential cost of this achievement..it can burn through your hard illegally earned cash. Also occasionally I would get killed in the precinct for some reason.
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By AfflictedJK on 27 Oct 2014 01:10
Hence the suggestion of doing this early on. I only ever got killed if I killed a cop and picked up his gun, I was then shot instead of beaten
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By Spilner on 27 Oct 2014 01:23
^My impatience may have been a factor..just one more punch to really piss them off!
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By AfflictedJK on 27 Oct 2014 02:00
So boring -_-
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By VRETENAR 906 on 02 Nov 2014 10:49
I must be in a small minority that reloads my save the instant I get arrested, because I'm near end-game and have been busted zero times. To lose ten percent(?) of my cash and all of my weapons isn't worth it when I can simply seek out a safe house at the end of each mission.
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By Mobius Evalon on 02 Nov 2014 11:15
You can't get any heat level while your hood is under attack! If you kill cops they don't do anything... smile
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By zsoltee53 on 04 Nov 2014 20:20
How long is this grind ?
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By Hmizzz on 05 Nov 2014 08:25
@zRaijin I would say about an hour/hour and a half.
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By South Park TFBW on 05 Nov 2014 12:43
I just started new game for this, took about 60 mins while doing something else, by paying more attention you can squeeze few minutes off. No saves will be overwritten if you do it right at beginning.
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By Zalexzy on 07 Nov 2014 22:01
I watched some episodes of my Simpsons DVDs while doing this so that might be why it took longer
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By South Park TFBW on 08 Nov 2014 01:12
+1 for GMichaelC. Works much quicker than standing still. Done in about 45 mins
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By WELL DONE BAKU on 13 Nov 2014 05:18
I found if you back up into a corner it helps a lot because you're not moving away from them when they hit you, then they're more likely to do a double uppercut to knock you down and bust you
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By UnTaMeD x SaGe on 13 Nov 2014 15:05
Worked great, thanks dude
If (like me) you have completed the game and got the extra health etc just start a new game, skip the cutscene and look for a police officer straight away.

From 0-50 arrests took about 40 minutes
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By TangerineGamer on 18 Nov 2014 00:11
Impdaddy has the best advice here. This method got it done fast. My only addition would be this:

On the bottom floor of LVPD is a guy facing a wall almost always. He's across from the office marked "Chief". Place yourself between him and the wall, and he'll knock you down fast.
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By Trombonafide on 22 Nov 2014 21:51
Yeah, it's really horrible. That's why I got 66 thumbs up on this solution. And it's like a 1 hour grind, that is nothing.
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By South Park TFBW on 25 Mar 2015 17:10
This method works great, However I noticed after 15 or more arrests in a row my game would crash and I would lost progress, so if anyone is going to attempt this Id recommend driving back home and making a save after every 10 or so arrests.
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By I Rage on Xbox on 09 Jul 2020 19:54
TIP: If you push down on the left analog stick as the screen says busted, you will already be running back inside the station by the time you respawn.

I played on 360 and saved after every 10 or so kills. I noticed that after 23 or so kills, the game started to get very choppy with low FPS. I never experienced a crash but it definitely seems like the game loses performance over time. Save your game!
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By Saw3d 0ff on 14 May 2021 14:15
I did this after I finished the game in Las Venturas PD. I found that if you face the cop and are a little away from him there is more of a chance he will do a couple of uppercuts which knocks you down regardless of health. The key is that you have to be facing the cop. If you are too close he will hit you over the top. Once I figured this out it took only a few minutes to run through it.
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By GMichaelC on 10 Nov 2014 00:34
You can do this later on in the game. Go to El Quabrados and date Barbara Schternvart at the police station. If you will do well enough at a 15% progress, you will never lose any money or weapons when you get busted!
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By TheBongoFury on 23 Jan 2015 00:40
This solution is horrible for a variety of reasons - it makes a grind painful, when it should be easy. Rather than follow OP's advice, here's what I'd suggest: date Barbara first. Then play the game til "Riot". The police spawn will increase tenfold and you'll get busted so much faster because of the increased police present.
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By InTheZoneTO on 15 Mar 2015 23:44
What Zone is suggesting is playing through the entire game first and investing time in an optional side activity to get an achievement that is completely unrelated to it. This solution is clearly the better option on multiple fronts because you can just step into any police station and grind it out at any point. It's also entirely possible that someone could have played through the riot section of the campaign already, and this person would be SOL with Zone's "amazing" solution.

Zone's also assuming that everyone's going to save their game after they've been busted 50 times and I know I didn't. Once the achievement popped, I dashboarded. Lo and behold, I didn't lose any money or any of my weapons after being busted a bunch of times and I never had to waste any time dating Barbara.
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By Mobius Evalon on 25 Mar 2015 20:38
I tried all of the strategies from all of the guides, and all of them took longer than I thought they would because of them being "best case scenario" strategies. There were always variables that made made my results inconsistent, or not "best case". Then I tried walking into a police precinct with my pistol drawn, getting me an instant 2-star wanted level, then running outside to jump into a vehicle near any approaching cop. I found that the cops in vehicles would typically bust me, but the ones in the station who chase me on foot would occasionally pull me out of the car and King me instead of busting me. Once I spawned outside the precinct after getting busted, I'd equip my pistol and walk right back inside. For some reason, every time I'd get busted, I wouldn't lose any weapons or cash at all. Doing this 45ish times took less than an hour, with no running around, no punching cops and getting blasted point blank instead of getting busted,and no loss of cash or weapons. Not sure if this is a fluke, or tied to this being a port of a port, but that's how I got this achievement.

I just wanted to note, this was done at the Las Venturas police station after officially opening up LV, but before the end of the game (last mission completed was You've Had Your Chips).
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By Impdaddyzer0 on 18 Nov 2014 15:11
I found a really fast way to do this. I'm actually doing it right now. After I beat the game I got arrested near my house on Grove Street. You'll spawn at the LSPD. Just go back inside and make the quick right into the area with the file cabinets. Punch the officer between the table and file cabinets and the position yourself between the file cabinet and the table with your back to the wall. The officer will double uppercut and arrest you within 10 seconds every time.

I kinda wish I could post a pic in this thread to specify the exact spot but it should be easy to understand. There will be a bullseye paper target on the bulletin board above CJ's head when you are standing in the correct spot. This method is by far the fastest and least complicated. Watch a video or a movie and you'll be done in no time.
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By LoD DEMOCIDE on 30 Nov 2014 07:09
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I found a really fast way to do this. I'm actually doing it right now. After I beat the game I got arrested near my house on Grove Street. You'll spawn at the LSPD. Just go back inside the LSPD and make the quick right into the area with the file cabinets. Punch the officer between the table and file cabinets and then position yourself between the file cabinet and the table with your back to the wall. The officer will double uppercut and arrest you within 10 seconds every time.

I kinda wish I could post a pic in this thread to specify the exact spot but it should be easy to understand. There will be a bullseye paper target on the bulletin board above CJ's head when you are standing in the correct spot. This method is by far the fastest and least complicated. Watch a video or a movie and you'll be done in no time.
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01 Dec 2014 02:01

1. Run up to a cop (dressed in a black uniform- they arrogantly stroll down the street) and hit 'B' and suck him one!

Hit 'Y' on a passing vehicle and steal it.

WAIT.

Let the cop drag you out!

BUSTED!


2. Bump into a moving cop car/try to steal it and you will instantly get a 1 star wanted level. (Alternatively commit a crime in front of a cop car). The moving car will be locked if you try to jack it, so wait for the officer to vacate his vehicle and then you take it and let him drag you out of it...

BUSTED!


3. Mow down some peds! After about 3 tramples in your favourite steam roller, simply wait for the cops to show up (or pull up next to a passing cop)...let him drag you out...

BUSTED!


4. Strolling cops appear at random, but the quickest way is if you see a cop on a bike, jack him and wait for him to drag you off and bust you- they are a quick boost on your way to 50!

ALSO, you may occassionally see a cop chase a prostitute down the street, commit a crime to avert his attention onto you.


BUSTED!


Some cops are dumb as hell though....I've had a few drag me out, only to hit me and walk away.

I've had one accidentally drag the taxi driver out instead of me.



If you do this gradually, it really isn't that bad.



*WILL UPDATE IF I FIND A MORE VIABLE SOLUTION*
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1 Comment
Don't know why all the downvotes. I was going to post a solution about the bike's. Jumping on a police bike is a sure fire way to get busted every time :)
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By Vr English on 09 Mar 2015 10:35
This achievement can be a pain to get ahold of, but don't despair.
Simply head over to the Los Santos Police Precinct, or get arrested in Los santos to teleport you there quicker.

The reason we head here is because upon entering the building carry on straight and take the first left into the desk computer room / office.
Across the room you'll see two doorways, head into the right door and there will be a shotgun.
Collect the shotgun instantly attaining you 2 stars, run outside and enter a vehicle and let the police bust you, this is significantly easier than punching officers and with a little luck there will be a police motorcycle outside allowing you to be arrested allot easier!

Because of the easier location directly opposite the road this makes it significantly easier than the Las venturas precinct and the San fierro Precinct.

YOU CAN SEE THIS METHOD BEING USED TO ACHIEVE MY FINAL ACHIEVEMENT HERE:
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28 Oct 2014 21:40

Actually the other Solutions lack a couple details and recommend doing this early on. I actually think you should wait until you have decent amount of health upgrades. Unlocking Las Venturas allows you to date a Cop girlfriend. Getting in her good graces allows you to keep your weapons after you've been arrested.

Anyway the routine is:
Get arrested in Los Santos.
1) Turn around and enter the police building
2) Kill a cop not near the exit
3) Grab his gun and equip it to trigger 2 star wanted level
4) With 2 star wanted level you will spawn reinforcements outside
5) Grab their vehicles but don't drive away at all.
Sometimes a cop will throw you out of the car instead of busting you. You should instead make sure the cop going for you has his gun equiped
6) Once you are busted repeat this process.

This method is way faster and less risky of dying than the other methods described in the solution.

It's a small grind so if you don't want to do it consecutively I recommend you date Barbara the Cop girlfriend so you don't have to grind this achievement out and just hijack cop bikes and get arrested here and there because you won't lose your weapons.
Here is some info on her
http://gta.wikia.com/Barbara_Schternvart
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EDIT: Ok, since as i see some people voted this solution down, i edited the first sentence. Maybe this is not the easiest and fastest method to get this achievement, but it's really not a big effort to perform it:

Go to San Fierro and break in the Military base. (Under the San Fierro bridge) You will get a 5 stars wanted level. Turn around and go back to the street. Let yourself arrested in a car. The San Fierro police department is around a corner so you don't have to drive only 30 seconds to go back the military base. Repeat 49x
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13 Dec 2014 10:05

Here's one method of getting this achievement that hasn't been mentioned so far...

- Go to Las Venturas Police Station (you can get yourself arrested in LV and spawn here).
- Run out onto the road in front of the police station and steal a passing car.
- Drive around to the back of the police station where the police parking lot is.
- Smash the barrier by driving into it.
- Get out of the car and run up the police officer guarding the barrier. Punch him once in the face.
- Get back in your car. After a few more seconds, that police officer will call for backup and you will have a three-star wanted level.
- Drive out onto the street and (at least) two police vehicles will spawn and ram you. Stop and allow the officers in the vehicles* to arrest you.

*Any police officer that was originally int he police parking lot prior to you getting the wanted rating will simply drag you out of the vehicle. If this happens, get back in it and position yourself so that the newly spawned officers arrest you instead.

This whole process takes about 1-2 minutes and once you get in a good grinding rhythm you can bash the achievement out in no time.
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08 Nov 2014 17:31

Another way to get this is to run into the back of the San Fierro Police Department and grab the second police car in there(wanted level 3). From there drive out onto the street (cops in the carpark only pull you out and shoot you) and let cops arrest you. This may require you to exit the car and get back in. Just run back around after getting arrested.
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28 Aug 2021 06:11

I realize there are a lot of solutions already, but I think this is quicker than any of the existing guides.

Late in the story, Los Santos is consumed by riots, and they don't end until you complete the final mission End of the Line. Police spawn a lot more frequently during the riots.

As others said, the move is to get arrested once, respawn outside the police precinct, and then keep trying to get rearrested there as quickly as possible. If you do this during the riots, there's often a bike cop right there when you respawn, and if you hijack him and let him take the bike back, you'll get busted every time. If there are no bikes around, there's virtually always a patrol car, and while getting pulled out of one doesn't always get you busted, you can just get back in again until they bust you.

Overall this is a lot faster than having to let cops melee your health down each time.
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21 Nov 2021 18:36

Easily obtained right out of the gate – it is recommended to get this as early as possible since getting busted will remove all of your weapons. The easiest way to get busted is to drive in front of a police car and attempt to carjack it. The cop will get out, allowing you to get in. Allow him to open the door back up – he should point his gun at you, and the screen will say Busted. Only Busted screens count.

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First get to know Katya in order to start this achievement; when you get to know her, you will not lose weapons and money.
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29 Nov 2015 22:09

5 Comments
At the very beginning, run into the cops, for example, steal a car from them, get into the car and wait until they arrest you, then you will appear at the police station, there are a lot of cops nearby, just hit the cop once and get into the car, wait until the cop runs up and arrests you and so on until you get the trophy, then you can start a new game again and you will have pure progress, and you will not lose either money or weapons.
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By Snak_O_o_2 on 05 Dec 2015 05:09
Thanks to Katya, the weapon does not disappear only after being hospitalized. Just complete this achievement without saving (get yourself arrested 50 times in a row), earn the trophy and load from your last save. This way you will maintain good statistics, you will have all the weapons with you, and the trophy will be counted.
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By Unde_Scream on 20 Sep 2016 11:45
Now I’m going through the game for the second time (on three rubles), I got the trophy very quickly, somewhere around 1 hour. Here are the recommendations:
- We do it in Los Santos at the very beginning of the game, when there is no cash at all. So that the cops don’t get a penny of money, not a single gun!
- We get into the car, crush the cop (carefully, not to death) or ram the police car. We’re sitting in the car, waiting for them to arrest us and let us out of the station.
- We leave the site and act according to plan:
1) We sit in any car from those driving to the left of the stairs.
2) If there is a cop on foot nearby (very close), we carefully crush him (not to death!) and sit in the car - wait for the arrest. After the arrest, we move on to point (1).
3) If there is a police car nearby (very close) (not a motorcycle! - these bastards like to climb back onto the “iron horse” after a collision and shoot at our car instead of arresting us). We ram the police car, get a star and sit in the car - waiting for an arrest. Then point (1)
4) If there are no cops or trucks nearby, there is no need to waste time looking for them. We go to the right of the stairs - there will be a barrier guarded by the police and behind it - the parking lot is empty. We break through the barrier, do a lap of honor in the parking lot, and drive out into the street from there. You must leave - the police do not arrest you on the territory, but drag you out and shoot you. It’s better not to push the two cops guarding the parking lot - at least one should stay behind to turn on the siren. We go outside - wait 10 seconds until the siren starts working and we get the 3 wanted stars we need. Before the siren sounds, we drive a little further from the parking lot - the security cops like to run out and pull CJ out of the car instead of arresting him. After 3 stars, we sit quietly in the car, wait for the arrest and move on to point (1).
5) You can also drive around the square in front of the police station - run over pedestrians and wait until a cop comes along and arrests you. But as practice has shown, it takes much longer, so I don’t recommend it.

Since cops and police cars do not always (???) hang out near the police station, point (4) makes life and time much easier with a set of 50 arrests.
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By Kazuma-2 on 01 May 2017 18:23
I chose it around the end of the story, when protests begin and there are a lot of cops in the city. The tactics are as follows: hit the cop in the face and get into the car, repeat the procedure. It took me 30 minutes to receive it
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By Nakamuraln on 11 Feb 2021 23:44
Be sure to shoot two cops as soon as you leave the station as in the video, if you don’t kill them and get into the car, then they won’t arrest you, but pull you out of it and start beating you.
Video guide (en).
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By PsVano87 on 09 Dec 2021 00:08
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The trophy can be won very quickly. In San Fiero you need to get arrested, you show up at the police station, there are always cops there, in front of them you steal a car, or you hit a person and wait for them to run up to you! It took me less than an hour.
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11 Dec 2016 07:07