As for me, I have a megahood which I try to play somewhat realistically, so it has multiple prisons (because IRL they juveniles awaiting their court dates for kicking a trash can over don't go into the same facility as harden criminals on death row), with a mix of premades and customs in prison. Here are the premades that are in or have been in prison in my game:

Angela Pleasant was in a Simlogical prison called Belladonna Regional Juvenile Detention Center (based on Manatee Regional Juvenile Detention Center) for the fiasco at Nookington's with her boyfriend Dustin. She also, according to story, went to Hillsborough Girls Academy (what real life Tampa Bay Girls Academy used to be called) for a while, which isn't actually in the game, but she was released from there. So she has two "went to prison" memories.

Dustin Broke, who was older than Angela according to the story and tried as an adult, received a 20 year sentence and was still housed at Strangetown Correctional Institute (based on DeSoto Correctional Institute) in 2014. He will be released in 2024 (game time is behind real life a bit).

Daniel and Mary Sue Pleasant both went to prison for child abuse. Daniel is serving a life sentence without parole at Oldtown Correctional Institute (based on Charlotte Correctional Institute) because what he did to Lilith was capital. Mary Sue is serving a 20 year sentence in Belladonna Correctional Institution (based on Lowell Correctional Institution).

Nina Caliente is in ADX Riverblossom Hills, a supermax facility with some inspiration drawn from ADX Florence. She was sent there for her involvement in Bella Goth's disappearance and for shooting and killing an FBI agent along with an officer from the Siminole Tribe Police Department in a shoot out while she was hiding along with her sister in the cafeteria in an abandoned, hurricane damaged middle school. Her sister escaped. Nina is serving a life sentence, but Dina wants to break her out.

Titania and Oberon Summerdream are serving time at Belladonna CI and Strangetown CI respectively for distributing drugs to teens at wild parties they were throwing at their house. Turns out their fairy dust getting the young Capps and Monteys to like each other was actually ecstasy.

I haven't decided who, if anybody, from the other neighborhoods I should incarcerate. Part of me wants to put Don Lothario in there, lol, but no (though he did do something highly illegal).

Obviously the burglars have had their rounds in the county jail/prison.

Who did you put in prison?

I did start putting all the burglars in prison but I kept getting very similar burglars so looked like I had created a women's prison

I just have one burglar now in a holding cell. They will be moved to a permanent cell upstairs once processed. But I don't play this "family" very often so don't know when that will be.

I don't punish sims. What would be the point?

I downloaded the prison system specifically to play military basic training and deployment. The separation from family and bonding to the military unit is a core part of the experience of the profession, for the service member and their kin, and wartime deployment specifically is a miserable thing, so I needed something that reliably isolates the sims and causes more negative than positive memories. I haven't played with it much, but it is absolutely necessary for certain storylines in my retro setup.

That’s certainly an interesting idea!

To me, it’s less about punishment and more about making story lines. If there were one I genuinely disliked I’d probably just cow plant them or take the pool ladder away.

My prison has been up and running 2 rotations for now. I mostly jail tourists, as they are really annoying always getting to perform local dances and not turning off the TVs!

I run my own Harder Interactions mod, which intentionally foils their low Charisma jokes and makes them hate locals and other tourists - no need to instigate anything. The offenses are defined simple - public disturbances due to fights, harassing public figures (vacation locals), and domestic violence (tourists bemeaning those in the "same family"). Terms are served in an incremental of 5 days and there is no need to adhere to real law - remember that as a video game, burglars only get harsh scolding at worst and Unsavory Charlatans are only shooed off, and only after petty thieverymolesting other Sims.

The penitentiary itself is actually sweet, a shame I haven't got its whole pictures yet! The convicts are "required" to "greet" each other "appropriately" once arrived, after that they have 24-hour leisure to fatten themselves on dishes of turket and sit comfortably 24-7 on the mud tub (instead of being boiled alive as part of being preyed upon ). There are no work, school, and bills, aside from occasional gardening and voluntary grade maintenance - would you envy them? I did.

Since wellbeing of officers come first, the convicts run on Free Will aside from when officers come in for maintenance or gardening. I have learned enough that I can confidently say that, as long as Sims of Sims 2 are not bogged down with whining "interactions", they are competent at keeping themselves full and living!

It is fun and games from when they stopped antagonizing each other until their releases. But after that, the former convicts will have to face the harsh reality of meager jobs, lack of fulfillment, and my lack of care... Really, if they could pray, they would certainly ask for a chance to go out and pick a fight of their own will (they are banned from appearing on any lots unless invited). That way, their agony would be as good as locked up, for they could enjoy the prison's 24-hour leisure again!

I don't see why sims should be punished either - and I have never downloaded the prison system Nor am I going to!

I downloaded it and am yet to play it lol.

I was actually being sarcastic about “punishing” them. Angel Pleasant is actually one of my favorites, I just decided to give her a story of being made stronger through chastening.

That's a unique way of storytelling by incorporating crime and punishment. Really, I only looked towards culling tourists at first, but then hardly got the time as the officers kept me busy. I had them make up so their autonomy could be (furthur) studied.

If anything, their releases was the actual punishment, and they would miss their time in the jail.

I can understand that the prison system makes sense for telling stories, and that it can be a great tool for that.

As for the tourists - (here comes another big unpopular opinion?) - I LIKE them.

There are some lovely teens in there (I sent ALL of them to Uni at least once, and am very fond of Amber Dawn, Renee Jonhson and Margaret Turner, and now that I have started a new game, I am already thinking of sending them to Uni again ).

I also like the Hula and the Slap Dance and like it if all the sims in my hood can hula or slap dance at the dance hall. (Of course they leave the TV on, but so do most of my sims, which meant that I have simply removed the TV sets from the hotel rooms ).

Each to their own - one of the great things of the game is that there are multiple ways to play it.

Playing for 20+ years, and I have never felt the need for the prison system - it just does not suit the way I like to play - but if I ever change my mind, I will let you know