In the Brig...

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I was wondering just how safe and secure are Star Fleet Brigs are. Having just a force field no matter how high level it is, can offer no protection against a power outage. I assume that, brigs and other secure areas must have to be equipped with multiple backup systems, however, if those backups ever went off-line as we have seen in Trek, whoever or whatever they were trying to contain would be let loose.

It sounds so 21st century, however, would it make a sense to have some kind of a phyical barrier along with an energy barrier, to make these sensitive areas really secure.

Resistance is Futile

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

I was wondering just how safe and secure are Star Fleet Brigs are. Having just a force field no matter how high level it is, can offer no protection against a power outage. I assume that, brigs and other secure areas must have to be equipped with multiple backup systems, however, if those backups ever went off-line as we have seen in Trek, whoever or whatever they were trying to contain would be let loose.

It sounds so 21st century, however, would it make a sense to have some kind of a phyical barrier along with an energy barrier, to make these sensitive areas really secure.

Resistance is Futile

We're talking about writers, not engineers. Engineers design safe, redundant things and writers design dangerous, exciting things.

 

[sbk1234]

Agreed. I kind of liked how on TNG the brig (except for season 1) had those big, heavy doors to the security area, which could probably serve as a suitable barrier in the case of a power outage.

IMHO, only the ST:Enterprise brig seemed tough enough to really hold someone in.

 

[JNG]

It sounds so 21st century, however, would it make a sense to have some kind of a phyical barrier along with an energy barrier, to make these sensitive areas really secure.

True, but I'd also wager that a system with bars and so forth intensifies the feeling of confinement and allows someone, in an extreme situation, to hurt themselves on the bars (or whatever). I think the force field business is somewhat more gentle in both respects, and I'm not surprised to see that these concerns would be paramount to Our Heroes.

After all, situations where someone has to be confined seem quite rare in the future.

I'd also like to point out that a power failure severe and long-term enough to get rid of the force field might very well get rid of the gravity, the opening doors, the heat, the air recirculation, and other things that might alter the situation a bit for the confined party...