Diary of a Prison Architect – Day 6, Crisis Management

*Now on Alpha 11*

Dear Diary,

Oh boy, that was a hellish night. There was a major riot which left us with five dead guards and four dead prisoners and a lot of damaged facilities.

We still have riot police and paramedics on site and a new bus load of replacement guards have just arrived. it’s time to get this place back on track.

The workmen are busy doing repairs and the hearses are being loaded with the dead.

Amongst the dead inmates were Paul Sykes (pleaded not guilty to Torture and False Imprisonment), Benjamin Graham (pleaded guilty to Grievous Bodily Harm), John Piddock (pleaded not guilty to Rape) and Andrew Elison (pleaded not guilty to Rioting). These were all medium risk prisoners. None of our new high risk prisoners were seriously injured.

Our solitary confinement cells were all full so we had to place some men under guard by by the riot police.

Another small fight broke out this morning in the high security showers. Riot police were still on-site for quick dispatch and resolution.

There was then another group of incidents around the canteen at breakfast. A lot of the men have many complaints today, largely due to a lack of sleep and being tightly strung after the riot last night.

We have cancelled this mornings work time and have given the prisoners some free time to relax, exercise, and call their families. Perhaps even some nap time for some of the men who were kept awake for most of the night.

Still further fights and destruction in the showers after breakfast.

Controlling the fighting has been a major issue all today. It is now lunch time and there have been countless outbursts. Our doctors have been rushed off their feet all day and the riot police are still waiting to go home. And the workmen have used up all of our available funds on repairs.

Christopher Newell (pleaded not guilty to Aggravated Assault) was caught trying to break into the workshop whilst the other men were at lunch. An odd bit of irony considering that all work today has so far been cancelled.

There was another near riot at lunch. The psychologist has been watching over the men today and he says they are starting to improve but that a lot of them are still a bit cranky from lack of sleep. A large number of the fights that are occurring today are from men who are very tired and are taking out their frustrations upon others. They are then beaten unconscious by the guards, revived by the doctors and are feeling even worse when they wake up.

Another riot in the canteen. Our current staff together with the riot police should be able to handle this.

Another two dead guards and one more dead prisoner, Miles Grostefon (pleaded guilty to possession). But the riot has ended.

The prisoners have damaged more of the facilities today and our budget is gone. And we made no money at all today in the workshop, attempting to do so would have no doubt ended with broken machines. Tomorrow I think we are going to have to look into an emergency measure, a C.H.E.A.T. grant, aka a government bailout, lest the prison continue on this downward spiral. With some funds we should be able to get this place operational again. Well, I should say with some funds and some luck.