Ranks, milestones & badges

Everything you can earn on Recaran. Karma raises your rank, milestones mark records-request activity, and badges are rare honors the Recaran team awards for exceptional investigative work.

How karma is earned

+10
per request filed
+5
per agency engaged
+25
per request that produced records

Outcomes are weighted highest, so karma rewards effective requesters — not just volume.

Ranks (12)

Rank	Title	Karma required
1	Observer	—
2	Researcher	50
3	Examiner	150
4	Analyst	300
5	Case Reviewer	550
6	Investigator	900
7	Senior Investigator	1,400
8	Lead Investigator	2,100
9	Detective	3,100
10	Inspector	4,500
11	Chief Inspector	6,500
12	Master Investigator	9,500

Each rank is progressively harder to reach than the last.

Milestones (11)

First Request Sent

You sent your first public-records request.

Getting Going

Sent 5 records requests.

On a Roll

Sent 10 records requests.

Prolific Requester

Sent 25 records requests.

Records Machine

Sent 50 records requests.

First Records Obtained

An agency produced records on one of your requests.

Records Hunter

Obtained records on 10 requests.

Records Veteran

Obtained records on 25 requests.

Casting a Wide Net

Engaged 3 different authorities.

Cross-Agency

Engaged 5 different authorities.

Statewide Reach

Engaged 10 different authorities.

Badges (10)

Rare honors awarded by the Recaran team — not auto-earned.

Holmes Badge — Master of Deduction

Solved a major investigative question by synthesizing multiple records, identifying a non-obvious connection, and producing a conclusion later confirmed by independent evidence. The rarest badge on the platform.

Columbo Badge — The Final Contradiction

Exposed a decisive inconsistency through persistent follow-up, careful comparison, or a seemingly minor detail that materially changed the investigation.

Ness Badge — Public Corruption

Records work that credibly documents organized misconduct, corruption, unlawful coordination, patronage, or abuse of public office.

Hoover Badge — Intelligence Architect

Built an unusually comprehensive, organized, searchable body of records across agencies, people, events, or systems — recognizing scale, intelligence organization, and institutional mapping, not merely obtaining many documents.

Bly Badge — Public-Interest Exposure

Uncovered records showing serious institutional conditions, mistreatment, neglect, or systemic failures affecting the public.

Pinkerton Badge — The Long Trail

Traced a difficult chain involving people, contractors, companies, property, payments, vehicles, or other relationships across multiple public sources.

Vidocq Badge — Investigative Innovation

Developed or used an original records-search technique, technical method, or unconventional source that materially advanced an investigation.

Poirot Badge — Interview and Motive Analysis

Used statements, correspondence, meeting records, or testimony to identify motive, deception, or a concealed relationship.

Marple Badge — Community Pattern Recognition

Recognized a significant recurring pattern in local government, neighborhood events, personnel conduct, or community records that others overlooked.

Dupin Badge — Analytical Reconstruction

Reconstructed an event or sequence primarily through logic, chronology, and documentary analysis.