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In Fallen London, we all come from New Newgate Prison, and most of us go back there sooner or later. Each time your Suspicion hits 8, you're hauled off to court, where the magistrate will sentence you to jail. (The first time this happens, two points are knocked off of your Suspicion; this makes the jail sentence shorter.) Going before the Magistrate also appears to increase your Criminal Record quality by an unknown amount. (Criminal Record is an un-tracked quality; you can't see each change point as it is applied.)

I'm currently facing a dilemma: when faced with the prospect of jail, should I purchase a collection of Instant Ablution Absolution (which cost 1 Echo each, and takes off about 3 change points of Suspicion and one change point of Scandal), or should I just go to prison? The latter is generally more tempting; it's much cheaper, and you can generally work off about two-plus change points of Suspicion per action in prison, anyway. (Doing the auto-fire opportunities doesn't cost an action point if you're out of action points; there are also ways to simply pay your way out at a reasonably good rate: 50-pence-worth-of-items per 3-or-so change points.)

So, since prison isn't that daunting, I'm terribly tempted to just go there instead of trying to wash away my sins. That increasing Criminal Record of mine is daunting, though: it looks like it will eventually increase to the point that it becomes inconvenient (significantly reducing the value of the Instant Ablution Absolution, for one), but I don't know if I'll be able to reduce it later.

Is there a way to reduce my Criminal Record?

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  • While I've never been there, are you sure you aren't punished when you finally come out of the prison? Coming out of the Nightmares removes you some Memories of Light and recurring dreams, for instance.
    – o0'.
    May 10, 2014 at 20:51
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    No, there's no punishment when you leave prison; you're simply a free man/woman/thing again. Your punishment is one point of Criminal Record, plus the time you wasted in prison.
    – PotatoEngineer
    May 10, 2014 at 21:28

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No, you cannot reduce your Criminal Record.

This has the side effect of making Suspicion the most punishing menace by a long shot, as not only does it eventually make Ablution Absolution ineffective, but as it increases, going to prison will cost you more and more goods and connections.

In addition, at the same time as the Absolution loses its effectiveness, you also lose the ability to cash in Connected: The Masters of the Bazaar to avoid adding on to it when you're caught!

So you're best off buying a large number of bottles. They're still quite effective as a Person of Some Importance, knocking off an average of 6 points of menace (1-10 Suspicion, and 1 Scandal), contrasted with the effective 2 points that laudanum or Tincture of Vigour provide.

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