The Precinct: Artifact Safebox Locations & Interactive Tracking Guide

In The Precinct, the 20 Artifact Safeboxes are the physical endpoint of the museum theft investigation — locked briefcases scattered across Averno City that hold the stolen exhibits Spencer I. Sharp has personally asked Officer Cordell to recover.

Finding all 20 and returning to Spencer at the precinct is the only way to unlock the A Sharp Mind trophy. The boxes are split evenly across the city — 10 in Western Averno, 10 in Eastern Averno.

Where Safeboxes Are Found

Safeboxes appear in two main location types: at street level, tucked next to dumpsters, trailers, fences, or shipping containers in alleyways and back lots; or on rooftops, reached exclusively via yellow ladders attached to the exterior of buildings — common throughout districts like Chinatown, Jonasville, and Boddicker Yard.

Each safebox sits within visual range of its corresponding Artifact Clue, usually pinned to a nearby wall, tree, or container — solving the clue's riddle produces the 4-digit code needed to open the box on the spot.

The First Safebox Is Story-Mandatory

St. Harry's Cellar Key, found behind dumpsters at the back of the Mercer ACB Bank, is encountered automatically during the second mission of the game — no code is needed, and the game walks players through opening it as a tutorial.

All 19 remaining safeboxes must be found through independent exploration afterward.

What's Actually Inside Is Randomized

While each safebox's location, contents description, and unlock code remain fixed (St. Harry's Cellar Key, Mummified Index Finger, Wooden Idol, and so on), the specific artifact awarded for opening that box is randomized per playthrough.

The order in which artifacts unlock is identical for every player regardless of which physical box is opened first — only the box-to-artifact pairing changes between save files.

Speed Up the Hunt: Rank 16 and Full Shifts

Reaching Police Officer Rank 16 unlocks the Artifact Detector, an ability that produces both a beep and a green radar pulse on the map whenever a safebox is nearby — the most efficient detection method for officers who'd rather not cross-reference Plaques and street clues manually.

Each safebox opened awards 250 XP, meaning a single dedicated shift sweeping all 20 nets roughly 5,000 XP on top of the trophy progress.

Conclude the Questline

Once all 20 boxes have been opened, return to Spencer I. Sharp in his office at the precinct to formally conclude the museum theft questline and confirm the A Sharp Mind trophy.

Every safebox location, its visual description, and its unlock code are listed below and marked on MapMaster's The Precinct interactive map.