Prisoners are not interested in programs.

[HD 20794 d 🌿]

My prisoners are not intersted in some programs. Especially carpentry and general education. I've tried changing schedule, hours. Built second workshop so carpentry doesnt conflict with workshop safety program. I have no idea what to do.

[NighttimeAssistantManager]

Your Suppression rate may be too high. Do you have Armed Guards everywhere? Are you regular Guards armed with Tazers etc? Try to reducing Suppression rate. Alternately, check that all your prisoner security levels can reach those rooms. On your Programs list, does it say that any prisoners are interested in the program?

[ABrokenPieceoftheSun]

Also I noticed that if you are doing spiritual guidance it will rob your other programs of a lot of prisoners.

[Tanda Endast Mot Ladans Plan]

Don't forget to wait patiently since carpentry took 5 session so u need to cross ur finger and don't ever add more program or reschedule otherwise ur success chance will drop drastically

[-Na Shagul-]

I'm like 90% certain that for both of those programs that you need to do the prerequisites; being that for a prisoner to even be remotely interested in General Education, they have to pass the Foundation course first. Same with Carpentry, they have to take workshop safety first and pass. And even then it's not a sure fire way that anyone will be interested.

[HD 20794 d 🌿]

Thanks for the replays guys. I think the biggest mistake i did was changing the programs schedules a lot, thats why there is still 0 interested. Should be more patient with this. Will try not to change anything now.

[BrianTouch]

Originally posted by NighttimeAssistantManager:

Your Suppression rate may be too high. Do you have Armed Guards everywhere? Are you regular Guards armed with Tazers etc?

this i can conform does effect them i have guards with tazers and while they do go to classes most of my prisiobn is suppressed

[Aeris]

Okay, but when I have less tazer guards or less armed guards, my prisoners start fights so often that my guards don't win. How do I create a balance? :(
I have:
*prayer mats in every cell
*vending machine mod, with luxury vending machines standing in yards, common rooms, canteen, gymnasium
*toilets + showers standing in yards, canteens, gymnasiums
*3 spiritual guidance programs a day, which MANY attend
*3 meals a day, with high variety/med quantity
*plenty phone booths + 2 visitation rooms

[The Queen Salis]

do you actually see their needs though? and reputations?
there must be something causing their behaviour.

[Aeris]

The spirituality need is pretty high. Which confuses me the most, since as I wrote MANY attend the spiritual guidance programs. So I have 200 prisoners, and half of the spiritualits bar is mostly yellow. But this, spirituality, is the need that is most often the most yellow.
Exercise and Family are the ones that are red to 10-15% the most often. I have 2 different visitation rooms, to both far sides of my prison (I only have the small prison area). Both Visitation rooms have 8 seats each. My regime has 2h free time, and 3h free time/work slots at least, for all security levels. The SuperMax block even has their own visitation area, with super short distances.
And as I said, I also have phone booths in my yard (1 yard for all apart from SuperMax), and in every Common Room, which each cell block (40 prisoners each) has their own of.

Would it help if I post just one screenshot of the needs tab? Since it varies over the day, when they can actually fulfill their needs, one snapshot wouldn't help that much I fear. I'm happy to share as much as you need to figure out my issues.

What do you mean I should check about reputations? I do upgrade prisoners with many strong characteristics to SuperMax, where they cannot mix with any other prisoner type - they have their completely secluded block.

[The Queen Salis]

Spirituality is pretty much a daily need BUT if you have a well furnished chapel accessible to the inmates and reasonable amounts of free time, they will just go pray on their own.
you can also give them prayer mats in their rooms if you wish.

Spiritual Guidance program's benefit is about the CALMING status. Useful but you can do without it.

There are particularly nasty reputations there, like "Volatile" and "Instigator" which should be very carefully monitored and very isolated.
Meanwhile strong, tough, fast, and even skilled killers without these can be mostly left to roam if you treat them with enough dignity. Just because you CAN kill a man with one punch, doesn't mean you WILL.

Informative screenshots are ALWAYS welcome. Both your needs page and the Regime would help us understand your prison.

[Aeris]

I have prayer mats in every single cell.
Oh, that's actually good to know that the Spiritual Guidance program "only" does CALMING, but the need itself can be fulfilled fine on its own!

Okay, so here go my screenshot:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366392986

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366393311

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366393472

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366393637

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366394073

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366405285

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366405451

Ah, and I recently banned all armed guards from inside locations (so cell blocks, canteen, etc.), to reduce the "suppressed" status, because I read that makes prisoners refrain from doing programs.

[The Queen Salis]

So nothing looks outrageously bad there. What about your intel and Reputations? and maybe look closely at needs of one single prisoner throughout the day

[Aeris]

Thanks already - didn't think you'd answer that quick ;) . I'll check the reputations now, and will single out more the instigators and the volatile guys. What about gang members - also put them in super max?
What Intel view would you like to see? I just edited + added stolen from and confiscated where - maybe you didn't see those yet.

[The Queen Salis]

okay you DEFINITELY have a Pickpocket there.
or a Connected.
or plenty of both.
These are just no good. They should NOT be with the general population at all.
They will spawn contraband like magic and sell it to everyone.

Find them, put them into SuperMax.

Do you have Informants? if not, you should definitely get some by recruiting people in Solitary. You will need a Security Room to question them.

[The Queen Salis]

I personally also sometimes employ a Luxury Cell. I put EVERYTHING that solves a need in it, and put the prisoner into PERMANENT LOCKDOWN. That way they are isolated from the population permanently but also not treated badly and unlikely to mesbehave (excluding VOLATILES but they just get the taze, couple weeks in equally luxurious solitary cell, and back.)