Reformatory

The Reformatory (少年院) is a juvenile hall located in Academy City designed specifically to handle esper offenders. It is located in School District 10 and is near BLOCK's hideout during the events of October 9.

Principles
The juvenile hall is used to house esper criminals and are equipped with anti-esper technology for that very purpose. There are 25 different kinds of anti-esper technologies found in the facility, one of which is the AIM Jammer. The AIM Jammers installed in the Reformatory are seen as a number of thin wires stretched out between the almost 15 meter walls covering the entire facility. The deeper in the facility, the stronger the AIM Jammer. Jailors also use old MPS-79 Powered Suits equipped with anti-esper equipment.

As the facility is specialized with dealing with espers, according to Tsuchimikado Motoharu, a group that is sufficiently equipped with ordinary weapons, even those from outside Academy City, will able to mount an assault against it. An example of this are the over 100 mercenaries BLOCK hired, which was easily able to infiltrate the facility, and is implied to have been equipped by BLOCK with the latest Academy City weaponry for that purpose. Moreover, the facility doesn't have a firefighting group as fires don't happen, though it is likely that the fire department has been given the facility's layout in case of a fire. Despite these measures, the facility cannot remove esper powers completely and is claimed by Motoharu that being a guard there is one of the three worst occupations from an insurance company's point of view.

Not much is known about the layout as it is kept secret by the company. What is known is that the facility is large and acts like a prison for the youth there, split between male and female. There are secret rooms and passageways in the facility as well. As Academy City doesn't have a criminal charge for treason, citizens who have committed treason and are caught cannot be charged legally. They will be sent to the Reformatory in the aforemention secret holding cells, which are not seperated by sex. Cells are apparently s, designed to absorb as much sound as possible, though it is unknown on to what extent the facility uses these types of room, whether they are for solitary confinement or are standard to all cells in the facility.

The facility has an inspection point connected to a traffic circle for the vehicles that shuttles prisoners around. The facility also has an exercise area.

Rumors abound that students will suddenly disappear for reasons unknown, specifically high level espers or excellent students. When the guards report it, they are waved off and ignored. It is believed that Academy City makes some deal with the students and then release them in secret, and it may be more convenient to pass some of the missing off as dead. As with the case of the terrorist Kouzaku Mitori, this rumor is likely true.

Notable Inmates

 * Kouzaku Mitori (formerly)
 * Mitsuari Ayu

Trivia

 * According to Railgun editor Ogino Kentarou, the design of the cells of the Reformatory are based on the anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories, the quietest room on Earth at the time the manga was written. The room at Orfield Labs absorbs 99.99% of all sound, which has some interesting effects, like making you lose your sense of balance and position, as when you move no footsteps or auditory feedback is heard at all, or making the the only sounds you hear the sounds your body produces (heartbeats, lungs breath, stomach digestion). The longest a visitor has voluntarily remained in the room is 45 minutes.