Hi! I absolutely love reading your HP theories and metas. they are so well researched and well written!
something i have always wondered about and would love to get your thoughts on is: is Azkaban the only wizard prison? From the books it seems like Azkaban is for serious offenses like being a DE or murder, etc. I’ve always wondered, is there a lower tier jail, perhaps a locked down branch of the Ministry where criminals are kept? I’m thinking of lesser crimes like petty theft, or illegal potion making or something like that. I can’t imagine someone would be sent to Azkaban for stealing.
But then I was thinking about a post you made where you said wizards have a different view on “pranks” (like whatever childhood mess Fred and George did to Ron), and how wizards may think these things are not that big of a deal if they can be remedied by magic.
Do you think wizards view these petty crimes as similar to pranks, where if the “crime” is easily remedied by magic, then its not a crime? (like, you could duplicate or retrieve a stolen item with magic, or said item has some kind of magical protection) As far as I recall none of this is ever mentioned in the books. This kind of strayed into multiple topics but I would love to hear your thoughts on crime/prison in the wizarding world (or what it might look like), if you have any :)
Hi, thank you very much! 😊
Personally, I don't think there is a lower-tier prison, just lesser sentences. I also don't think low-level crimes, such as theft, are considered like these more violent pranks (Fred and George melting Ron's tongue with an acid pop, for example), as in, I don't think they are legal, but I don't think they are prioritized by law enforcement.
What I mean is that the average wizard can fight off the average intruder with a wand on their own. Aurors would only really be needed in cases where magically dealing with the problem is beyond the average wizard. Or if the Ministry determines the criminal is a problem for them for this reason or another. We repeatedly see that crimes against the Ministry or Ministry personnel or crimes done by people the Ministry doesn't like are all treated with more severity.
Basically, crimes that aren't assault/murder/other violent crime or crimes on a state level, like terrorism (being a DE) or breaking and entering Ministry facilities, aren't taken care of by aurors, it seems, but by other departments. We see Arthur, and his office is responsible for fining for crimes related to their jurisdiction:
“I like Ludo,” said Mr. Weasley mildly. “He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favor: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble — a lawnmower with un- natural powers — I smoothed the whole thing over.”
(GoF, Ch5)
It had been clipped out of the Daily Prophet, and it said: Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car.
(CoS, Ch12) - In this case, it seems he didn't have a choice because of how visible the car was and fined himself 🤷♀️.
And we know minors get expelled from Hogwarts as a punishment instead of Azkaban often:
“We always knew Hagrid had been expelled,” said Harry miserably. “And the attacks must’ve stopped after Hagrid was kicked out. Otherwise, Riddle wouldn’t have got his award.”
(CoS, Ch14)
He was found guilty of at least the negligent manslaughter of Myrtle, so it's a lesser sentence since he is a minor.
Harry is almost wrongfully expelled:
What if they ruled against him? What if he was expelled and his wand was snapped in half? [...] had his breach of the International Statute of Secrecy been severe enough to land him in a cell in Azkaban?
(OotP, Ch3)
Breaking the Statute of Secrecy is a serious crime. One that seems to warrant a short Azkaban sentence (seen later) when the Ministry feels like it. Harry knows it can land him in Azkaban (though he is, of course, panicking; this panic isn't completly unfounded).
Cases of assault on muggles (both for the assault and the breach of the Statute of Secrecy) are sent to Azkaban:
“And my father went after the bastards that did it,” said Aberforth, “and attacked them. And they locked him up in Azkaban for it. He never said why he’d done it, because if the Ministry had known what Ariana had become, she’d have been locked up in St. Mungo’s for good. They’d have seen her as a serious threat to the International Statute of Secrecy
(DH, Ch28)
Morfin Gaunt is also sentenced to a few months in Azkaban for it:
Morfin, who already had a record of Muggle attacks, was sentenced to three years in Azkaban. Marvolo, who had injured several Ministry employees in addition to Ogden, received six months.
(HBP, Ch10)
The quote above proves they have *short* Azkaban sentences of a few months or a few years for more minor offenses:
Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watch wizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o’clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defense, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban. [...] “Six months in Azkaban!” whispered Harry, shocked. “Just for trying to get through a door!”
(OotP, Ch14)
Trespassing into government property is bad enough for six months in Azkaban. It's possible trespassing in general is sentenced for a few months in Azkaban, the way assault is (Marvolo's six months). Though, it's also possible it's because the assault and trespassing were crimes against the ministry, and that against private property or any magical individual that isn't the ministry, the sentence would be a fine or perhaps a month in Azkaban (Harry reacts like the sentence Podmore got is way out of proportion for the crime. But that could also just be Harry thinking that breaking and entering the ministry should be legal. I mean, he does it twice).
Morfin's sentence was longer (3 years) due to him attacking muggles, meaning it was the breach of the Statute of Secrecy that makes the sentence longer. And we see Morfin does indeed return home after his first stint in Azkaban to be framed for the Riddles' murder later. For the latter crime, he seemed to have received a life sentence in Azkaban. But he proves people do get released from Azkaban if they survive to the end of their sentence.
But with all this, we can see clearly that Azkaban is the only prison, and even minor crimes that require a prison sentence are sent there. We also see that Azkaban isn't inherently a death sentence (that's what the dementor's kiss is for) or a life sentence.
That being said, many Azkaban sentences end up being for life — even if the sentence is only a few months, since many don't survive that first year:
They don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most go mad within weeks.
(PoA, Ch10)
“He [Barty Jr] died?” “He wasn’t the only one,” said Sirius bitterly. “Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the dementors could sense it, they got excited.
(GoF, Ch27) - "Barty" died about a year after he came to Azkaban. Sirius states this is a common occurrence.
