OK, maybe the Federal Navy might overlook an incident of smuggling using a Navy ship, or even piracy if nobody actually gets killed. But if a griefer goes on a killing spree in a Federal Corvette, aren't they likely to have a problem with that? With rank comes some responsibility, surely? wouldn't that be "bringing the Navy into disrepute"?
I have some suggestions:
Firstly, using a Naval ship to destroy an "innocent" ship (one which carries no outstanding bounties or fines with any Fed-aligned faction anywhere) should result in an immediate "dishonourable discharge" from the Federal Navy: the loss of all Fed Navy ranks and resetting Federation reputation to Neutral. This means that the CMDR no longer has the rank to legally own the ship he's flying.
Secondly, the Fed Navy should sell a specially-modified Kill Warrant Scanner, which can only be purchased by a Federation naval officer of around Lieutenant or better, and can only be fitted on a Federation Navy ship. If another Federation Navy ship is scanned with this and its pilot no longer has the rank to legally own that ship, and the ship with the scanner then opens fire, the modified KWS's internal computer registers the owner's hostile intent, the owner's Federal rank, and the target's lack of legal authority to own a Federal Navy ship... and it then transmits a coded signal which triggers the target ship's self-destruct. And if you have one of these, you will get missions to hunt rogue Navy ships.
Thirdly, the Federal Navy will not supply a replacement warship to someone who doesn't have a right to own one, so the CMDR respawns in a Sidewinder with 1000 credits (though he might still have another ship stashed somewhere).
The Imperial Navy might do exactly the same with its ships, or it might use a different setup for variety. For instance, the Empire is a stratified society which favours the rich and powerful and the "ranks" are aristocratic titles, so maybe the perp would just drop one rank. But I'd also expect them to take a dim view of crimes which damage the Empire's economic interests (which are likely to be the interests of a powerful noble you don't want to antagonise), so it's a bad idea to get caught using an Imperial Navy ship to smuggle goods into an Empire-controlled station, or to perform an act of piracy in Imperial space.
This won't stop griefing and suchlike (they could still use Anacondas, T10's or whatever), but it will put an end to the bizarre situation of the Federal and Imperial Navies actually condoning and assisting this.
I have some suggestions:
Firstly, using a Naval ship to destroy an "innocent" ship (one which carries no outstanding bounties or fines with any Fed-aligned faction anywhere) should result in an immediate "dishonourable discharge" from the Federal Navy: the loss of all Fed Navy ranks and resetting Federation reputation to Neutral. This means that the CMDR no longer has the rank to legally own the ship he's flying.
Secondly, the Fed Navy should sell a specially-modified Kill Warrant Scanner, which can only be purchased by a Federation naval officer of around Lieutenant or better, and can only be fitted on a Federation Navy ship. If another Federation Navy ship is scanned with this and its pilot no longer has the rank to legally own that ship, and the ship with the scanner then opens fire, the modified KWS's internal computer registers the owner's hostile intent, the owner's Federal rank, and the target's lack of legal authority to own a Federal Navy ship... and it then transmits a coded signal which triggers the target ship's self-destruct. And if you have one of these, you will get missions to hunt rogue Navy ships.
Thirdly, the Federal Navy will not supply a replacement warship to someone who doesn't have a right to own one, so the CMDR respawns in a Sidewinder with 1000 credits (though he might still have another ship stashed somewhere).
The Imperial Navy might do exactly the same with its ships, or it might use a different setup for variety. For instance, the Empire is a stratified society which favours the rich and powerful and the "ranks" are aristocratic titles, so maybe the perp would just drop one rank. But I'd also expect them to take a dim view of crimes which damage the Empire's economic interests (which are likely to be the interests of a powerful noble you don't want to antagonise), so it's a bad idea to get caught using an Imperial Navy ship to smuggle goods into an Empire-controlled station, or to perform an act of piracy in Imperial space.
This won't stop griefing and suchlike (they could still use Anacondas, T10's or whatever), but it will put an end to the bizarre situation of the Federal and Imperial Navies actually condoning and assisting this.