# Jails during disasters question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062 "2017-08-29T22:38:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/1 "2017-08-29T22:38:36Z")
What happens to jails and prisons during things like the floods? Would they relocate them or what? I do know of some circumstances where they had the prisoners go out and help. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/2 "2017-08-30T02:11:14Z")
The small jail in which I worked as the Sheriff’s secretary had a disaster plan for a LOT of possibilities including fire, tornado, flood, riot, chemical, biological or nuclear attack, and so on. I know because I wrote it. We had a diesel powered generator for power outages of various sorts, but the plan was detailed down to filing coded notches into the keys that were used to open the cells in the event of a power failure and failure of the power locks. Last ditch was securing the prisoners with cuffs (or cable ties) and shackles and transporting to another secure facility. There were logs and lists of who was in charge and who was next in command. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/3 "2017-08-30T02:33:26Z")
Like Cub Mistress said, we have plans for all kinds of emergencies. In New York prisons, they’re kept in a big red book, which we call the Red Book. (Okay, it’s officially the Ready Emergency Data manual. But you know they wanted to call it the Red Book. And, yes, it is required to be red.) We have plans for escapes, riots, hostage situations, medical emergencies, employee strikes, deaths by natural causes, accidental deaths, suicides, murders, fires, bomb threats, loss of power, natural disasters, nuclear wars, sick dogs, etc. There are lists of phone numbers for people you’re supposed to call and procedures you’re supposed to follow. Everyone above a certain rank is required to review and sign the Red Book once a year. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/4 "2017-08-30T02:36:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > nuclear wars So, what _was_ the plan after a nuclear war, assuming the jail survived? If there’s a total breakdown of government, there’s no resources to keep prisoners. I can think of extremely horrible scenarios - basically let all the lower level offense prisoners go, but leave the high level prisoners suspected of more serious crimes to die in their cells. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/5 "2017-08-30T04:10:51Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > So, what _was_ the plan after a nuclear war, assuming the jail survived? If there’s a total breakdown of government, there’s no resources to keep prisoners. > > I can think of extremely horrible scenarios - basically let all the lower level offense prisoners go, but leave the high level prisoners suspected of more serious crimes to die in their cells. Sorry. I’ve always tried to keep my discussion of prison operations at a relatively general level and not discuss specific details. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/6 "2017-08-30T21:37:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sorry. I’ve always tried to keep my discussion of prison operations at a relatively general level and not discuss specific details. I keep my plans for using inmates to achieve world domination after global catastrophe tightly under wraps too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/7 "2017-08-30T22:02:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I keep my plans for using inmates to achieve world domination after global catastrophe tightly under wraps too. No, I’m pretty open about that. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/8 "2017-08-30T22:37:23Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > So, what _was_ the plan after a nuclear war, assuming the jail survived? If there’s a total breakdown of government, there’s no resources to keep prisoners. > > I can think of extremely horrible scenarios - basically let all the lower level offense prisoners go, but leave the high level prisoners suspected of more serious crimes to die in their cells. I imagine less dangerous inmates could be put to working doing manual labor like clearing rubble or digging mass graves. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/9 "2017-08-30T23:37:13Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > What happens to jails and prisons during things like the floods? Would they relocate them or what? > > I do know of some circumstances where they had the prisoners go out and help. Well, you can google what happened at the Orleans Parish Jail in New Orleans to find out what not to do… I won’t link to it, it wasn’t a pretty story. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/10 "2017-08-31T17:41:00Z")
I remember reading multiple times during WW2 it seems like the standard procedure was to just release all prisoners and let someone else deal with it. Which lead to many instances of prisoners either being rounded up and arrested as spies/saboteurs by both sides, or wandering into battles and being gunned down thinking they were enemy soldiers. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/11 "2017-09-01T00:25:18Z")
In 1902, a volcano called Mt. Pelee on the island of Martinique erupted, killing tens of thousands of people. One of very few survivors was in a jail, in solitary confinement that day, and a few days later was dug out from the rubble. [Ludger Sylbaris - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludger_Sylbaris) ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/12 "2017-09-01T01:08:14Z")
There is a documentary on this called the PRISONERS OF KATRINA [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXZv2o9I6iY) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/13 "2017-09-01T01:25:17Z")
They probably have a “Shoot while trying to escape” list. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/14 "2017-09-01T12:48:46Z")
If society is decimated by a great plague, you can be rescued from your cell if the Walking Dude thinks you offer him sufficient value. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/15 "2017-09-01T13:03:20Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If society is decimated by a great plague, you can be rescued from your cell if the Walking Dude thinks you offer him sufficient value. But keep your cellie nearby just in case he doesn’t show up right away. ---
**Author:** ![JHBoom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/13edae/32.png) [@JHBoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHBoom)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jails-during-disasters-question/795062/16 "2017-09-01T15:16:39Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If society is decimated by a great plague, you can be rescued from your cell if the Walking Dude thinks you offer him sufficient value. Do you have to pledge _“My life for you!”_, or is that optional?