History Main / SelfRestraint

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer and Bart get arrested in Japan and are put in a jail cell... with paper walls. Only after his bail is paid and the door is opened does Homer walk through the wall.
** In another episode, we see that one of the prisons in Springfield operates on the honor system. And most of the prisoners actually comply.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode "Avatar Day", Aang refuses to break out when one of his previous incarnations is accused of murder. He even gets slapped into stocks. The problem is they're designed for adults, so Aang, who is pretty skinny anyway, has no trouble at all taking them off when he wants to.
** Later, in "The Earth King", rock restraints are put on Aang's wrists. Since Aang has been training as an Earthbender, this is pointless, but Aang lets them stay on so he can make a good impression. He even briefly takes them off to wave, then puts them back on.
** This happens to Bumi when he is imprisoned by the Fire Nation, who place him in a metal box with only his face exposed so that he can be fed. The Fire Nation soldiers thought that by completely immobilizing his arms and legs, they prevented him from Earthbending, but it turns out ''twitching his nose'' is all the body movement he needs for that. Bumi willingly restrains himself until the Firebenders temporarily lose their powers so it is easier for him to not just escape, but take back his whole city by himself.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ''Heat'', Clark is arrested for arson. Chloe talks him out of breaking out. [[spoiler:Which he did anyway.]]
** Later, Clark stops Kara from breaking out when she was arrested for murder.
** [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking No jaywalking involved.]]
* In ''Series/LoisAndClark'', Superman promises to not use his superpowers since the people of Metropolis thinks that he is the cause of a localized heat wave [[spoiler:(it was actually Lex Luthor)]]. When he saves someone, he is arrested and put in holding, where one of the other detainees starts to mess with him, ("I just tugged on Superman's cape!"). When the jerk tries to punch him, Supes dodges and the bum lands his punch on another guy. The other guy is not happy and Superman just kinda shrugs at the first one, "Kinda sucks to be you right now."
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': The Winchesters purposely trip a motion detector to get themselves arrested so they can investigate a haunted prison.
** In another episode they allow themselves to be committed to a mental institute to investigate the deaths of patients. When they are done, they just walk out of the place with minimum of effort.

* An early episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'' has Teal'c captured and put on "trial" for killing a man years ago (when he served Apophis). It's an absurd KangarooCourt, the team is fully armed, the locals have only medieval weapons, and the Stargate can't be more than thirty feet away. The only complication: Teal'c is guilty as charged, and refuses escape. Even after the Goa'uld attack and Teal'c is freed and armed to join the fighting, he shows up for his scheduled execution.
** Needless to say, the locals have changed their mind about sentencing by this point.
* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "I, Robot", a self-aware robot called Adam has just killed its creator [[spoiler: after said creator, on the behest of the government, tried to erase Adam's personality and reprogram him as a mindless weapon]]. Most of the episode consists of a trial determining whether or not Adam should be considered a person fit to stand trial or a piece of haywire machinery that should be immediately scrapped. The entire time he is cuffed with rather hefty restraints. In the end Adam wins the right to stand trial as a person. However, as everyone is leaving the courthouse, the prosecuting attorney who argued against Adam's humanity accidentally walks into the path of a truck. Adam effortlessly breaks his restraints and pushes her out of the way, sacrificing himself in the process.
* Neal Caffrey on ''Series/WhiteCollar'' broke out of prison 3 months before the end of his sentence to find his girlfriend. This suggests that he could have left at any time. It is also ridiculous that the 'tracking anklet' he has in the first season can literally be cut off by a pair of scissors. If he wanted to leave, 5 minutes would be more than enough time to disappear. The real problem for Neal is what to do after he escapes. He does not have the funds to live comfortably in another country and does not fancy a quiet life as a nobody in some backwoods town. Baring those options, he knows that sooner or later Peter and the FBI would track him down and put him into a maximum security prison for a long time. It is easier to just finish his two year probation while [[GildedCage living in a penthouse apartment in the middle of Manhattan]].
* Played for laughs in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' when GOB ends up in a coalition-run prison in Iraq. [[spoiler:The whole thing is actually a government trick to get him to lead them to some evidence against his father, and they keep intentionally giving him opportunities to escape, but he just points out their "mistakes" each time rather than taking advantage of them.]]

* At least until "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone" River Song of ''Series/DoctorWho'' is imprisoned in the Stormcage Prison for some not-yet-specified crime (implied to be murder, possibly of the Doctor himself). When she needs to (normally to go off on some adventure with the Doctor), she will happily escape and even let the guards see her packing her bags and inform them of her plans, and then return to her cell willingly when the adventure is done. Why she does this instead of just leaving for good is not clear, although it is possible that, in her ridiculously convoluted time-travel relationship with the Doctor, she needs somewhere where she can reliably be expected to be.
** As of "The Wedding Of River Song" we know that [[spoiler: she is indeed imprisoned for killing the Doctor, but didn't really]], and that part of the reason she remains in prison is [[spoiler: to provide clear historical evidence to the Silents that the Doctor was, in fact, killed]].

* ''RicochetRabbit'', "Jailbreak-In" has a bad guy refuse to leave the jail, as he enjoys the free room and board there. After several unsuccessful eviction attempts, the sheriff finally does toss the bad guy out, leading to him blowing up the jail in frustration: "If I can't stay there, no one can! Goodbye, jail!" BLAMMY! AT the very end Sheriff Ricochet puts him to work building the new jail, which will end up holding the stubborn bad guy once again.

* In one series of ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}'' cartoons, the hero is framed for various crimes by a criminal gemcutter named Tap-Tap, who is working for the gangster Riff-Raff. Eventually he turns himself in, ''not'' to exonerate himself, but because Tap-Tap's disguise is so convincing, he even fools Underdog himself, who assumes he was sleepwalking. Although the hero could escape from jail any time, he does not, and the ruse is discovered when Riff-Raff does it for him, breaking him out because they needed him to cut a large diamond that Tap-Tap couldn't dent. Naturally, [[StupidCrooks this exposes the ruse]], and the ''real'' criminals end up in jail.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' episode "Jailhouse Flock", the good guys get arrested. The Planeteers get bailed out, but not Captain Planet. He chooses to stay, even using his superpowers for the hard labor. It is only when his name is cleared that he leaves.
* ''{{Popeye}}'':
** A Fleischer cartoon has our sailor hero helping Olive with household chores but getting on the wrong side of a policeman who is citing Popeye for numerous vehicle violations. When Popeye accidentally knocks a flower vase off a window sill and it hits the policeman, he suddenly says "I hit an offisker! I broke the law!" He totes the unconscious cop in his car to the nearest jail, sits the cop down and locks himself in a cell.
-->'''Popeye:''' I always obeys the law! (''singing'') 'Cause I'm Popeye the Sailor Man! (''toot! toot!'')
** In another cartoon, Olive becomes a cop herself, and Popeye thinks it's too dangerous; he tries to protect her, but only messes up and hurts himself each time, eventually being arrested (by Olive, ironically) when he gets involved in a brawl. Then, however, [[ProperlyParanoid his hunch is proven right]] when a masher tries to assault Olive; he hears her screams and, proving the jail could never hold him, breaks out, then rescues her.
* This is played with in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', where members of S.H.I.E.L.D. grab Jonah so Nick Fury can have a word with him, accidentally grabbing Peter along with him. This means they have to detail Peter while Jonah and Fury have their talk; while Peter realizes it wouldn't be a good idea to simply break out of the cell and give his identity away, he's rather curious, so he undoes a vent entrance in order to find Jonah and listen in. He manages to do so and get back before anyone notices.

* In more chivalrous times, officers captured in war would be given the opportunity to give their parole, which was usually a sworn promise that they would not fight against the capturers' troops. Mediaeval nobles often ended up as guests of their capturing lord, and many made great inroads in impregnating the local womenfolk. Later on, the fortress-town of Verdun was the go-to destination for British [=POWs=] in the Peninsular War. If they were enlisted, they sat it out in freezing, wet cells. If they were officers, they lived in the town and formed the Officers Philosophy Club, which did precious little philosophy and quite a lot of drinking and whoring.

* Beast in the 90s ''WesternAnimation/{{X-Men}}'' cartoon was once wrongly sent to prison. Magneto, thinking this would make him bitter, broke him out in an attempt to recruit him as an ally - at which point Beast politely asked him to leave, as he wished to stand trial and prove his innocence.

** This happens to Bumi when he is imprisoned by the Fire nation, he willingly restrains himself until the Firebenders lose their powers so it is easier for him to not just escape, but take back his whole city by himself.

* A couple of OrsonScottCard's ''Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker'' books have done this. Alvin can pretty much go wherever he wants, whenever he wants, but allowed himself to be kept imprisoned twice, though I seem to recall he eventually broke out the second time because there was an emergency.

** In ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' Vetinari is usurped and thrown into prison. He has anticipated this, and the most secure cell happens to have its lock on the inside.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Guards! Guards!'' Vetinari is usurped and thrown into prison. He has anticipated this, and the most secure cell happens to have its lock on the inside.

** In ''Thud!'', a group of Watch officers, including a pair of trolls, are captured by dwarven army troops and the trolls ([[FantasticRacism and only the trolls]]) are put in chains. Vimes spots straight away that they're just cheap field chains and would be completely unable to hold the (massive, made-of-stone) trolls for more than a few seconds... but that would give the dwarfs the legal ability to kill the "escaping prisoner". Fortunately, Detritus is more than experienced enough to see through the trick.
* In ''TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', Tom Sawyer convinces Jim that he can't just walk out of his cabin, and has to make his escape in a properly epic fashion. Jim's already legally been freed but Tom's keeping it a secret

* {{Superman}}. Because he's the [[TheCape Superman]].

* A Fleischer ''{{Popeye}}'' has our sailor hero helping Olive with household chores but getting on the wrong side of a policeman who is citing Popeye for numerous vehicle violations. When Popeye accidentally knocks a flower vase off a window sill and it hits the policeman, he suddenly says "I hit an offisker! I broke the law!" He totes the unconscious cop in his car to the nearest jail, sits the cop down and locks himself in a cell.

Usually takes place in a CardboardPrison or a LuxuryPrisonSuite. If the character was arrested to foil some EvilPlan when getting arrested was their true goal, then it's a form of XanatosGambit. When capital punishment is involved, it's ForgivenessRequiresDeath. When they invoke the aid of another character, it often overlaps with NoMatterHowMuchIBeg or KindRestraints. A character who normally does this may break out when he's the ProtectorBehindBars. Contrast NeverGoingBackToPrison. Compare CapturedOnPurpose, where a character lets themselves be captured as part of a plan and can't necessarily escape easily.

* In one of the CaptainAmerica novels, Cap is kidnapped by a militia group to be put on [[JokerJury "trial" for not doing enough to help "real Americans."]] Cap can and does break out of jail, but he does it secretly to pass along information to other superheroes and law enforcement. He then breaks back ''in'', with the militia none the wiser. This ensures they stay focused on his trial and keep all the best militia members guarding him, so only the B-squad is available to carry out the actual nefarious plan, which is thus thwarted by Cap's partner Comicbook/TheFalcon.

Usually takes place in a CardboardPrison or a LuxuryPrisonSuite. If the character was arrested to foil some EvilPlan when getting arrested was their true goal, then it's a form of XanatosGambit. When capital punishment is involved, it's ForgivenessRequiresDeath. When they invoke the aid of another character, it often overlaps with NoMatterHowMuchIBeg or KindRestraints. A character who normally does this may break out when he's the ProtectorBehindBars. Contrast NeverGoingBackToPrison.

* A lengthy plot in ''NewWarriors'' involved Marvel Boy accidentally killing his abusive father with his powers, and being found guilty of manslaughter. When the rest of the Warriors show up to break him out of prison, he refuses to go--he did the crime, he'll do the time.

In many characters' lives there might come a moment when leaving a prison would be against everything they stand for. After all, if ''they'' can't obey the law, how could they demand it from anyone else? Besides, [[ClearMyName they didn't do it]], so there's [[WrongfulAccusationInsurance nothing to worry about]].

Often [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] with the characters demonstrating just how easy breaking out would be. They might also be forced to insist to be let to stay, if they are in danger of getting freed prematurely. If they're waiting to get legally released, they may just escape as the order comes, to show that they ''can''.

* In the first episode of ''FistOfTheNorthStar'', Kenshiro initially makes no effort to escape from jail, even passing up a chance to grab the keys. When he hears that Zeed kills women and children, he bends open the bars to his cell to kick some butt-ugly ass.
* {{AKB0048}}: Nagisa's father does this initially when Nagisa shows up to break him out of prison. Her father is a government official on a planet in which entertainment is banned, and was subsequently thrown in jail when Nagisa joined a high-profile entertainment group.

* Another Superman example: promo material for ''Film/ManOfSteel'' shows our hero being handcuffed, detained and calmly taking questions from Lois Lane in a room with a two-way mirror.
** During that scene in the movie, Kal gets up to address the General who is standing behind the two-way mirror, casually breaking the chain of the handcuffs without so much as stopping to glance at them.

* In ''{{Asterix}} and the Laurel Wreath'', the heroes get imprisoned and break out of their cell during the night to search the palace above, only to return once they don't find what they're looking for.

* In ''{{Hancock}}'', when he turns himself in to improve his public relations he is basically kept there on the honor system. This is demonstrated at one point when he jumps over the fence to retrieve a basketball and then goes right back in.

* Marv in the film of ''SinCity'': He gets chained up and interrogated, then breaks his chains just as he's about to be let free. He explains that it's because he WouldntHitAGirl.
** Another ''SinCity'' example is Hartigan, who actually had to claim to have committed a crime, but was innocent. His refusal was partly because of his distrust of his captors (who were paid off by a corrupt US senator who wanted to make him pay for trying to take down his son), and partly because he didn't want to be associated with the seriously heinous crime in question.

* In ''SupportYourLocalSheriff'', James Garner's character has one of the bad guys so badly buffaloed that he's willing to stay in a jail cell that has no bars, just a line drawn on the floor to indicate where the bars should be.

* On ''{{Bones}}'', not only the main character's father, but her brother, do this to restore her respect in them.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'', BugsBunny and DaffyDuck are put in prison, and Bugs finds that prison life agrees with him; free meals, free gym, and best of all, protection from the other prisoners so he can insult them indiscriminently ("It's a smart-aleck's paradise!"). When they both escape [[ChainedHeat shackled to each other]], all Bugs wants is to turn himself in. And once they have served their sentence, Bugs has to be dragged out kicking and screaming.

** Hornblower ends up being exchanged early as a result though, and promoted to Lieutenant.