Distract Cops

"I'm running a service for stick-up crews. It goes like this - you make noise over here, no one notices them making noise over there. If you want the work, I'll tell you where you need to make the cops look. Cause as much trouble as you can, for as long as we need, and you'll get paid."

- Lester's introductory text message.

Distract Cops is a feature in Grand Theft Auto Online Free Mode unlocked after reaching Rank 15 that was added as part of the Heists Update.

Players do not need to have visited Lester (after his phone introduction at Rank 10) to be offered this job.

This is no longer available in the enhanced edition as it was removed in the Freemode Events Update. It remained available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms until their access to GTA Online was removed in December 2021.

Overview
"Help Lester's contact by distracting the cops in the area marked by a purple circle."

- Instruction on screen.

Lester asks the GTA Online Protagonist to assist in attracting the attention of the police to allow his associates to get away with a crime. A purple circle appears on the Free Mode map and the player has to distract the cops in this location.

The zone has a chance to spawn in any online session type, including while players are alone.

The zone is only available to be triggered for a limited time before Lester sends a message. "Great. Thank you for your help. Now some horrible criminals are in jail for a crime they did commit and it's all your fault!!"

- Lester

Upon entering the zone, a 5-minute countdown timer starts in the lower right corner of the HUD. The player(s) must maintain at least a one-star wanted level for the duration of the timer. Unlike the Gang Attacks red zone, the purple zone will remain marked on the player's map for the duration of the timer.

As the timer goes down while in the purple circle, the players will gain progressively increasing wanted levels. Players will have a 5 star wanted level by the time the timer hits zero regardless of whether any crimes were committed during the 5 minutes.
 * After 10 seconds - the wanted level will set from 0 to 2 stars.
 * After 1 minute - the wanted level will automatically progress from 2 to 3 stars.
 * After 3 minutes - the wanted level will automatically progress from 3 to 4 stars.
 * After 4.5 minutes - the wanted level will automatically progress from 4 to 5 stars.

Re-entering the zone after dying (assuming the player respawned outside the purple zone) will result in the wanted level quickly increasing back to 5 stars, star by star.

Distract Cops Locations
There are a total of 10 locations for which the event will take place, also situated within Los Santos County. The location out of those available is picked at random. However, the Terminal location serves as a potential "default".

Rewards
"Good work. You'll get your money, and they got away with it. Everyone's a winner except small businesses, property owners, and emergency services in the area..."

- One of Lester's messages upon successful completion

Successfully completing this activity rewards the player(s) a maximum of $10,000 from Lester, an amount of RP and usually a 4-5 star wanted level. Failing to last the full 5 minutes will result in a reduced payment. Leaving and re-entering the zone will reduce the payout.

Multiple players can enter the zone and Lester will divide the total payout evenly amongst all the players participating.

Failure to evade the wanted level after the event will not forfeit the rewards.