How big is a brig?

[Dubwas]

My party has been scooping up Orion Pirates every which way to Sunday I'm sure that their brig is filled to the brims and some of them had to be dumped into a cargo bay or something. How many cells would you say are in the average brig how many people could be placed reasonably in each cell. I mean its not a prison ship I figure maybe 6 or 8 cells. Their ship is a very modified steamrunner class so a size 6. Just wondering if anyone was more in the know than me abut starship brigs.

[PGoodman13]

It all depends. What century, what class of ship, etc? Those all have something to do with it.

[tonyg]

I wouldn't thing there would be too many cells. On screen we usally one see one or two, and I can really see why there would be more. In a worse case scearniro they could always use a cargo bay as a markshift brig.

I'd say use the same formula as for shuttlebays, say about half size? So a SIZE 6 ship could have 3 brigs/cells?

Based on what we see on TV, I'd go with, say 6 people per brig, or maybe go with the ship's SIZE.

So for a SIZE 6 ship, say 3 cells of 6 people each, for a total of 18?

Just a guesstimate.

[C5]

And there is always the solution of converting unoccupied quarters into a brig, in case of emergency (mainly for a "guest" prisoner, I suspect, like a high-ranking prisoner of war).

[tonyg]

And there is always the solution of converting unoccupied quarters into a brig, in case of emergency (mainly for a "guest" prisoner, I suspect, like a high-ranking prisoner of war).

Yeah, although I think in cases where lots of prisoners are captured, using a cargo hold (as TNG did, but not for prisoners) is probably more viable.

Plus, some cargo holds can be opened to space. Worth considering if you have a group of trouble prisoners. While Starfleet tried to be nice, it 50 Klingon prisoners try to capture the ship, being able to open the hold to space is a nice option (and even better as an unstated threat that could keep the Klingons from attempting to capture the ship in the first place).


Starfleet ships, do seem to have a lot of room for guests, though.

[Tomcat]

Here is a snipped section from my Miranda-class blueprints to give you a representation of its brig- maybe it will help.

[tonyg]

Hmm, 9 cells. The Miranda is SIZE 5.


On TOS we've see as many as 4 people tossed into the same cell ("Mirror, Mirror"), so 4x9= 36 people.

Say:
Cells = 2x SIZE-1 (I'd assume a min SIZ of 3 to have any brig)
Capacity: 4 people per cell.


That would give a SIZE 6 Steamrunner: 11 cells, and a capacity of 44 prisoners.

Guesstimate, revised.

[Dubwas]

Ill go with that makes sense to me

[The Tatterdemalion King]

You could also stick them in stasis fields and stack 'em like cordwood.

[Tricky]

Hey, TK has a point: why would you need a brig at all? A guy in stasis is not going to send signals to his people, activate your Operations officers emotion chip, convince a crewperson to help them take the ship, or bust out of a cell with your Chief Engineer (well maybe that one...).

I mean you wouldn't put every prisoner in stasis (sometimes you need to have someone 'cool their heels', so to speak (crew discipline, or during an interrogation), but why chance a break out? Imagine what a 'stasis jail' could have done for some of the episodes of the Various shows where someone 'breaks out of the brig'.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Because it's pretty damn sinister when you think about it. You capture some dude and put them on ice, (probably) without consent? Sounds like a rights violation to me.

To the OP: If you're GMing, give them a choice between storing them live (and dealing with a breakout attempt, or fights among the prisoners, or waste disposal) or popsicling them (and the stasis fields breaking, or almost killing them, or the fact that it's probably against regulations).

Why haven't they handed them off to a Starfleet transport ship yet?

[tonyg]

A few reasons against "statis" jails:
First off "stasis" is only partially suppoered in Trek. While the fan fiction an animated series used it, it only rarely appears on the series.

Secondly, the energy requirements would be pretty high.

Thirdly, there has to be some risk of people not coming out of it.

Finally, I think there would be a sort of human rights issue here. Putting someone in stasis is like a living death. For an enlighten society such as the Federation, I don't see stasis as a viable option. Especially for people who have yet to be convicted of a crime.

[PGoodman13]

Here is a snipped section from my Miranda-class blueprints to give you a representation of its brig- maybe it will help.

Hmmmm. Wherever did I put my Constitution-class blueprints...?

[tonyg]

Hmmmm. Wherever did I put my Constitution-class blueprints...?

Which set? Franz Josef? FASA, or one of the fan-based ones?

[PGoodman13]

Which set? Franz Josef? FASA, or one of the fan-based ones?

Franz Joseph. Never had the FASA ones, and I don't put a lot of stock in the fan-based, though some are pretty nice. They're around here somewhere, but I've been cleaning out a lot of stuff in my office and things are in a bit of disarray as a result....