I'm working on an adventure that is going to put my players inside a prison for what will probably be several game sessions.
I have two questions... first, do you know of a resource where I can read a bit about what prisons are like in the sixth world? Or if anyone wants to give me some cool ideas for how to handle prison in the sixth world.
Also, I'd love it if anyone has a prison map I could use for the game.
In addition to the sources others have quoted (the Lone Star book has good information), I've done a lot of research on this that may take some things into account that the LSS didn't really do.
Going to prison is a process, and in the Sixth World, it's not all that much different from it is today. Depending on the area and the crime which the prisoner committed, and certain other assessments, the kind and quality of the prison the convict stays in will vary. What I've done in the wake of the collapse of the United States is that this required the NAN, TIr Tairngire, and CFS to have to reorganize their prisons because now there's no access to federal facilities for them anymore (no SuperMax prisons) for interstate/most heinous offenders. Some of these nations haven't improved much since then, though some prisons have been built, of course.
If you are doing this from a Seattle perspective, let's say, then the jurisdiction is the UCAS. There are prisons in the Seattle Metroplex, and in my game there is a UCAS SuperMax in Bellvue. This is ideal because the UCAS would like to keep the most dangerous convicts away from the eastern portion of the nation as much as they can, and Seattle's unique situation makes that most beneficial in case of an escape.
Before anyone goes to the Penitentiary, they have to go through Due Process. I know that the UCAS believes that you're innocent until proven guilty, but ignore that crap. If they want to send you to prison, they're going to send you to prison; the arraignment and trial are mere formalities. So, until your sentencing hearing, the convict is kept in what was the County Jail, which is a larger facility than the local precinct jail, unless someone has posted your bail. Some crimes will not allow a bail to be set, like murder, rape, arson, and anyone who the judge believes is a flight risk. In Seattle, that possibility is very high, given how close the NAN is. If some dink skips bail, that's where bail-bondsmen, better known as bounty hunters, come into play.
After sentencing, any possessions the convict has on him upon arrest will be held in storage until the convict is released, either on parole or just outright freed. In the Sixth World, we have issues pertaining to cyberware and magic, so that has to be considered carefully. Depending on the nature of the crime and the convict in question, those with cybernetics may have devices that inhibit their uses, and those with magical talents may also either be seriously monitored or they are going to be put in a confinement that makes it tough for them to go astral (like an ivy-covered cell-block). If it comes right down to it, they may constrain the offending magic user by putting him in a strait-jacket for hours at a time, and keep him from talking.
One idea that I think many nations in the Sixth World may use is a Simsense Prison for particularly dangerous offenders, repeat offenders, and just because it's cheaper than the alternative, which requires the corrections department to feed people quality food, make sure they get some exercise, develop some skills, etc. Just keep someone constantly in the realm of Simsense, artificially feed him intravenously, occasionally deliver mild shocks to limit muscle atrophy, and so on. I'm sure in some nations lawyers will have a field day fighting that on behalf of their clients who can afford to pay.
Shadowrunners are automatically considered dangerous convicts. But, they are also useful assets. A corp, nation, or other powerful faction may want to take them out of prison and into a life of indentured servitude for their particular skills.
In my Shadowrun PDX game, the Tir Tairngire prison system is something everyone wants to avoid, because people often go there to disappear. Forever. However, this leads me to something else that isn't widely considered by most of the sourcebooks for the game, and this comes from my own armchair knowledge of criminology (which happens to be one of my hobbies) - most criminals are unstable and stupid. Your typical shadowrunner is a professional, an asset the Tir doesn't want to blithely shoot in the back of the head if they can help it. But most criminals are not shadowrunners; they are notoriously narcissistic sociopaths of one degree or another, and they fall in three basic categories:
Non-Violent: These offenders are your typical white-collar criminals or dinks who are habitual drug abusers, or petty thieves, vandals, armed robbers who don't hurt anyone, car thieves, and some parole violators. They will be sent to a standard facility, put in orange coveralls, and will do 3 months to 15 years, depending on the crime, and in the Tir will be put in service to the state in chain gangs picking up road-litter, clearing out undergrowth near the forests, help to build roads, etc.
Violent: These offenders are usually gang-members, armed robbers who have hurt or killed someone, muggers, some drug-dealers, organized crime hoods, etc. These guys will be sent to a more secure facility, and in the Tir are only allowed to go on a work crew if they show some trustworthiness and a willingness to rehabilitate. Typically, they're doing 5-20 years in prison.
Dangerous: These offenders are rapists, arsonists, killers of various stripes, gang-leaders, full-blown sociopaths (like serial killers and serial rapists) and various repeat offenders who just didn't get the hint the first two or three times they were in prison. They may or may not be put in the same prison as the Violent offenders. The Tir doesn't have too many Dangerous felons in their prisons, because they either shoot them or conduct experiments on them, because the Tir doesn't have the money, generally, to keep these people incarcerated for Life. Shadowrunners fall into this category because they're professionals, generally speaking, and have the skills and resources to do some damage both in and outside of prison.
