There are four types of collars, but each serves the same function - to keep a Companion safe. The tag types are Domestic, Stray, Wild, and Pseudo.
Domestic tags are generally for docile, outgoing, or friendly personalities and low-danger species, and indicate a Companion that is unlikely to hurt you.
Stray tags are typically for more introverted, withdrawn, or subdued Companions. They don't lash out often, but may be more difficult to raise than a happy Domestic. Strays aren't usually outright dangerous unless pushed (just like anyone else).
Wilds are for Companions that are either physically more capable of doing someone harm (poisonous, long claws, sharp teeth, big scary animal species, etc), have more violent/angry personalities or tendencies, or some combination of these traits. Wilds are generally considered harder or more dangerous to raise than Domestics or Strays.
Pseudo collars and tags are only given to those undergoing Pseudo treatment. They serve primarily to monitor the health of the person undergoing treatment, and may either be kept or removed upon completion of treatment.
Collar Features
1. Each collar works as a wireless transmitter to the medical staff. Through skin contact they are monitoring heart rates, sleep patterns, and brain activity. The computers are alerted if there is a dangerous spike in any of these zones. By tracking brain activity, the medical staff can see if a Companion is in great amounts of distress (for example, by co-monitoring heart rate and activity in the fear or pain centers of the brain). A recovery team can and will be sent after a Companion should they notice extreme distress.
If the Companion lives off campus the Academy will first reach out to the Companion before sending a team. If they receive no response from the Companion they will send a team. Upon adoption, all Companions select a 'safe word' as part of their final paperwork when choosing to go home with a family. Unless Companions themselves, NO family is aware of this fail safe. This is an additional protection for adopted Companions to alert the field team to action in the event that it is their family causing the distress.
2. Collars are not solely for the protection of the Companion - they are also for the protection of the people around them. Due to the amount of feral Companions, especially at young ages, the collars can also be used to sedate a raging Companion.
This is the key difference in the collar types. The thickness of the Wild collars allows for more sedatives to be held at the ready in the event of emergencies.
Another important note - the collars are attached to the Companions in various ways. Attempting to remove the collar without the proper tools will lead to serious damage to that Companion. It isn't as simple as unlocking it and walking away; there is a whole process involved when the Companion reaches stabilization.
If a Companion has been deemed 'unsafe' then the Academy can choose to not allow the collar to be removed at YA in order to maintain a level of safety and security for the public.
3. Collars also have built in GPS. If a Companion has a collar and goes missing, the Academy can find them.
Due to these features, the ideal placement of the collar is around the neck. There have been extremely few exceptions to this, such as placement on the arm, but this can inhibit the transference of key data. This means Companions that have collars in incorrect locations will not be monitored as carefully, and should something happen to them (or should they do something to someone else) the information probably will not process, and help may not come.
Collar Removal
Companions who have reached the age of stability and have been deemed Young Adults or YAs may choose to have their collar removed.
The collars are tamper resistant with a number of features to keep them in place and functioning well. These include a fiber optic line that sends an alert if broken, constant GPS monitoring, and an internal logger that continues to record even if it cannot send information to the servers. Attempts to remove a collar without following the proper procedures will result in an alert being sent to security. Companions at the Academy will be checked by their Keeper or another nearby staff member should this alert be tripped. Companions adopted out will be called immediately. And again, improper removal of a collar will result in injury to the Companion.
All collars are locked with a proprietary lock designed much like an allen key lock. However, the key is not a simple hexagon, but more like a complex star. It is specially designed by and for AAA and is not available for purchase.
All Companions receive a psych evaluation before their collar is removed. Companions with excessive black marks on their records or those who have been in solitary confinement must also have an advocate speak for them before removal can be completed.
Who doesn't need a collar?
1. As stated before, Companions who have reached the age of DNA stability.
2. Companions born naturally. It seems that if the parents are fertile and if their genes create a viable pregnancy that results in a live birth, that process has a stabilizing affect on the offspring. So far no Companions born of a Companion parent have suffered from the normal effects of destabilization, even without treatments. They are still encouraged to come in for check ups regularly, however.