Where do you send the most notorious criminals in the world? Drug lords, terrorists, serial murderers, rapists and child molesters are the absolute worst of the worst. Special arrangements must be undertaken to ensure that they remain behind bars and that they do not escape to rejoin society.
This is where supermax high-security prisons come in. This kind of prison ensures that the most dangerous criminals are segregated on a long-term basis. By keeping them inside, authorities ensure that they do not pose a threat to security and the peace and order situation anymore.
Here is a list of the top 10 high-security prisons in the world. Conditions may be like hell, which is probably appropriate given the people who live in it.
10. Qincheng Prison, China
Qincheng Prison is a maximum-security prison located in the Changping District, Beijing in the People’s Republic of China, near Xiaotangshan. The prison was built in 1958 with aid from the Soviet Union and it is the only prison belonging to the Ministry of Public Security. The Ministry of Justice operates other prisons. Up to 5,000 security personnel ensure that the prisoners are kept locked in at all times. To add to its security, the prison is located 3,000 feet above sea level. A deep and desolate valley awaits those who plan to escape
9. Tadmor Military Prison, Syria
Tadmor prison is located in Tadmur in the deserts of eastern Syria approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Damascus (Tadmor or Tadmur is the Arabic name for Palmyra). Tadmor prison was known for harsh conditions, extensive human rights abuse, torture and summary executions. There are laser beams deployed to ensure that the foolhardy that does try to escape will not succeed. Once inside, prisoners are tied up in heavy chains.
8. Camp Delta, United States
Camp Delta is a prison facility in Guantanamo Bay. It is located in Cuba, though it officially belongs to the United States. The prison was used to house suspected terrorists in the fight against Al Qaeda. Torture was performed regularly in the past, though this has been cut down and even eliminated totally. Up to 12 guards may be assigned to one prisoner. And even if the prisoner manages to escape, there is the added obstacle in the fact that he would be escaping into an American military base.
7. Fuchu Prison, Japan
Fuchū Prison is prison in Japan. It is located in the city of the Fuchū, Tokyo to the west of the center of Tokyo Metropolis. Before the end of World War II, Fuchū prison held Communist leaders, members of banned religious sects, and leaders of the Korean independence movement. Any small sign of a missing prisoner will trigger off one of the most advanced emergency alert system in the world.
6. Arthur Road Jail, India
Arthur Road Jail is located in the city of Mumbai. Its cells are highly secure and built sturdily to withstand both break ins and escapes. It claims to be bomb-proof and that not even the most advanced weapons in the arsenal can break the walls and barriers of the prison. No one has ever escaped from this prison and it is highly doubtful if there is anyone foolish enough to try to break into it.
5. Souza Baranowski Center, United States
Souza Baranowski Center is a prison facility located in Massachusetts. A team from the world-renowned institution of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, developed the prison’s surveillance system. The team built a highly advanced camera matrix system that is able to record 24 hours a day every conceivable angle in the facility.
4. Federal Correctional Complex (Terre Haute), United States
The Federal Correctional Complex in Indiana is a maximum-security prison that employs only a minimal number of guards. Electronic surveillance is done throughout this prison facility. Surveillance cameras afford a 360-degree view.These are monitored constantly in a control room. There are also motion detector sensors strategically located all over the prison. There is also a face detection technology to help identify the inmates.
3. La Sante Prison, France
La Sante Prison in Paris is an inescapable facility and hundreds of prisoners had to find this out the hard way. Several years ago, a group of prisoners tried to escape from the facility by going through the drainage system. Even that part of the facility proved to be so secure that the prisoners ended up getting trapped in the tunnel. As a result, most suffocated to death.
2. Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, United States
This prison actually closed down in 1963, but its legend lives on because of its seemingly fortress status. America’s most notorious criminals stayed there, including Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Rafael Miranda and Whitey Bulger. There were 14 escape attempts made by 36 prisoners, of which only five were unaccounted for and are presumed to have died by drowning.
1. ADX Florence, United States
The United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) is an American federal supermax prison for male inmates located in Fremont County, Colorado. It is unofficially known as ADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, Supermax, or the Alcatraz of the Rockies. Part of the Florence Federal Correctional Complex, which is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice, houses the male inmates in the federal prison system who are deemed the most dangerous and in need of the tightest control. ADX also includes an adjacent minimum-security camp that, as of March 2014, houses more prisoners than the supermax unit.
