It is pretty common for players to make a mess while wandering in the City of Los Santos, both Online and Offline. From blowing up cars to hitting innocent citizens randomly, every offense you made against the law would be held against you (as long as there is a witness present who can call the cops).
In this article, we are going to list out the various ways that you can escape the cops in GTA 5 and GTA Online, even at the maximum wanted level.
How to escape the cops in GTA 5 & Online
1 - Outrunning the law
The first and simplest method to escape cops in GTA games that you can pick - just hide somewhere until the police stop chasing. It is important to check the radar, as when you are being chased and the police have sight of you, it flashes red and blue. However, if the police lose sight of you, the radar stops flashing and the wanted stars flash instead. You need to get out of sight as soon as possible. It's best to have a fast vehicle in order to do that.
During this "cooldown" phase, all police and police vehicles on the radar will have a field of vision (FOV) indicator. Officers on foot have the smallest while Helicopters have the biggest. If you get into these FOVs, the chase will be re-engaged. Otherwise, your wanted status would be removed after a certain amount of time. 5 Stars is the highest wanted level.
Approximate time needed to lose a Wanted Level:
| Wanted Level | Time |
| One Star | 30 seconds |
| Two Stars | 45 seconds |
| Three Stars | 60 seconds |
| Four Stars | 75 seconds |
| Five Stars | 90 seconds |
2 - Los Santos Customs and repair shops
In GTA Online, players can make use of Los Santos Customs and other repair shops to alter the appearance of their vehicle and remove the Wanted status. However, they can't use it in normal story mode to erase the Wanted Status. Furthermore, the police will recognize a stolen vehicle in GTA Online if players don't modify its outward appearance.
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3 - Swapping vehicles
If players managed to lose the police for a moment, they can quickly switch vehicles. This reduces the chance that they could track the player, as police searches are based on the last known location and the color, model, and origins of the vehicle the player were last seen driving.
When swapping vehicles out of sight, the player's location arrow on the radar would change from white to grey, indicating that the vehicle is unrecognized. Just don't get into the direct sight of any police unit or attract their attention in any way... as the pursuit could be re-engaged at any time. In higher wanted levels, swapping vehicles is essential to escape.
4 - Safehouse
Similar to previous games, if players are able to reach a safe house and use the save function, the Wanted status would be removed. However, this option is not available if you have 3 stars or higher.
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5 - Bribery
This method only works in GTA Online. Just call Lester Crest after unlocking him to remove all wanted levels for a fee. The amount of the fee depends on how many stars you have accumulated.
6 - Disguises
Players can equip a disguise before committing any crime so that they would become less recognizable. During the chase, it is possible to reduce Wanted Level by one star by just removing the disguise.
Interested in more of our articles related to the GTA series? Please check out this post for the Top 5 Open World Games Similar To GTA 5.