What is the most secure prison in the world? A list of the top 15

What is the most secure prison in the world? A list of the top 15

Have you ever considered where high-profile dangerous criminals and terrorists are kept? Every detention centre is built with the aim of security and inescapability, and some of these centres are just top-notch in providing maximum security. What do you think is the most secure prison in the world?

most secure prison in the world
A promenade yard at Mulhouse prison, eastern France. Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP
Source: Getty Images

The most secure prison in the world is known for its advanced security measures and technologies like face and motion detectors, and cameras, alongside inescapable structures and facilities. These features have been why notorious criminals have been locked in with few escape stories over the years.

Most secure prison in the world

Different measures are put in place to ensure the maximum security of the inmates. While some detention centres attach multiple guards to a prisoner, others use various technologies to ensure proper monitoring of inmates. Here is a random list of the world's top 15 most secure prisons.

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1. Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC)

Why is ADX Florence so secure?
The Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center where Aaron Hernandez committed su^cide. Photo: John Wilcox/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald
Source: Getty Images

This is a maximum security prison in Lancaster, Massachusetts, USA. The detention centre is named in honour of two correctional officers killed by an inmate in 1972. It opened in 1998 and has not recorded any escape in the past years.

2. Portlaoise prison

What prison holds the most dangerous criminals?
A general view of Portlaoise Prison in Co Laois. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Images
Source: Getty Images

Portlaoise detention centre is located in Portlaoise, Ireland. It was established in 1830 and holds murderers and bombers. It has armed personnel, sensors, and cameras. However, it recorded two successful escapes in 1902 and 1974.

3. North Branch Correctional Institution (NBCI)

What prison holds the most dangerous criminals?
North Branch Correctional Institution (NBCI). Photo: @TheHeraldMail
Source: Facebook

NBCI is a high-tech and hyper-max detention centre located in Cumberland, Maryland. It can house approximately 1,460 adult males with an average sentence of ten and a half years. NBCI was built in 2003, and so far, it has no record of a successful escape.

4. Terra Haute Federal Correctional Center

What prison holds the most dangerous criminals?
View of a sign outside the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex. Photo: Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket
Source: Getty Images

Indiana's federal correctional centre was established in 1940. It is a federal execution centre upgraded in 2005. The detention centre uses minimum personnel in security due to its 360-degree surveillance cameras. So far, no escape cases have been recorded.

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5. HMP Belmarsh (AKA Hellmarsh)

What's the safest prison?
People protesting in front of Hellmarsh. Photo: @JA_Defence
Source: Twitter

Hellmarsh is located in Greenwich in South East London, where people termed as "category A" prisoners are kept. It was founded in 1991 and has had no trace of escape. It is nicknamed British Guantanamo for its high security.

6. La Sante prison

worst prisons in america
The La Sante Prison has housed some of the world's most notorious inmates. Photo: @GidoWalter
Source: Twitter

France's La Sante prison is located in the heart of Paris and was established in 1867. This detention centre is known for su*cide cases due to its strict environment and had three escape cases in 1927, 1978, and 1986. Additionally, it remains one of France's most infamous detention centres, containing VIP and high-security wings.

7. Tadmor military prison

What's the safest prison?
Tadmor military prison. Photo: @LegalAidAdvocate
Source: Facebook

The French mandate forces built the Tadmor detention centre in the early 20th century. It is located in the deserts of eastern Syria. Tadmor military detention centre was known for its insane human rights violation and was destroyed in 2015 by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

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8. Guantanamo Bay detention camp

What's the safest prison?
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Photo: @TheBee0815
Source: Twitter

This detention camp is located at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was established in 2002. It houses and tortures criminals, mostly Al Queda suspects. It is highly guarded and gives camps according to the privileges and comfort of inmates.

9. Black Dolphin prison

alcatraz of the rockies
Inside Russia’s brutal Black Dolphin prison. Photo: @DailyMirror
Source: Twitter

Black Dolphin is the oldest detention centre in Russia, nicknamed for its striking black dolphin Statue frozen outside the building. It was established in 1723 but upgraded to maximum security in 2002. It holds about 700 serial killers, political prisoners, and cannibals who, together, have killed around 3,500 people.

10. Qincheng detention centre (aka The Tigers cage)

alcatraz of the rockies
Qincheng detention centre houses some of the most notorious prisoners. Photo: @f.s.mei
Source: Facebook

The cage is located in Beijing, China, with over 5,000 security personnel. It was established in 1958 and gives luxurious care to its inmates. Among other things, age, crime, social status, and job priority determine the quality of food inmates receive. Nevertheless, no escape case has been heard.

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11. Arthur Road Jail, India

alcatraz of the rockies
Arthur jail in Tokyo Metropolis. Photo: @oneindianews
Source: Facebook

This is Mumbai's central detention centre in India, built in 1926. It has maximum security with rigid and electrified walls and bars, though it is known to be overcrowded. However, cases of inhumane treatment of inmates have been recorded, but no one has been able to escape.

12. Fuchū prison

most secure prison in the world
The wall of Tokyo's Fuchu detention centre, Japan's biggest male-only correctional house. Photo: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP
Source: Getty Images

The Japanese detention centre has been known for no escapes for nearly 90 years. Life is highly restrained and has four blocks for common prisoners, foreign prisoners, and the mentally ill and disabled prisoners with high-tech security. It is located in Fuchū, Tokyo, to the west of the centre of Tokyo Metropolis.

13. Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, United States

most secure prison in the world
Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was the home of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary but is now a museum. Photo: Robert Alexander
Source: Getty Images

Alcatraz is located on an island 2 kilometres off the shore of San Francisco. It is surrounded by Shark infested water, and escaping by swimming is impossible. It was later destroyed in 1963 and is now used as a museum. Notorious gangster Al "Scarface" Capone and murderer Robert "Birdman of Alcatraz" Stroud are a few dangerous felons who served there.

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14. Cayenne prison

florence county bookings
Scientist of the Terre-Ocean mission, French geologist Eric Gilli leaves the penitentiary known in France as the Bagne de Cayenne on the Royal Island. Photo: JODY AMIET/AFP
Source: Getty Images

The Cayenne detention centre, popularly called the Devils island, is found in French Guiana. It held the worst criminals in French nations, especially political prisoners. It had 80 thousand prisoners but was later closed down in 1953. Before its eventual closure, there were cases of mass death from malnutrition and disease and futile escape attempts.

15. ADX Florence

most secure prison in the world
The ADX (administrative maximum) Supermax detention centre in Florence, Colorado. Photo: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Sygma
Source: Getty Images

It is also known as Alcatraz of the Rockies and is undoubtedly the most secure detention centre in the world. It is located in Freemont County near Florence, Colorado and was established in 1994. It has been in operation for 28 years and has no escape record.

Unfortunately, ADX is one of the worst detention centres in America. Though it is secured, it is also tagged as a clean version of hell because it is based on its strict environment leading to suicides by inmates.

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Frequently asked questions

  1. What's the safest prison? The safest detention centre is the US penitentiary Administrative Maximum facility (ADX), situated at the federal correctional centre in Florence, Colorado.
  2. Why is ADX Florence so secure? The Supermax prison is secured due to its facilities and maximum security. It has 21 acres of land surrounded by 12-foot razor wire fences. ADX also has 1,400 steel doors, motion sensors, and remote-controlled cameras.
  3. What prison holds the most dangerous criminals? ADX, the Supermax prison in Colorado, holds the most dangerous criminals. It houses male inmates known to threaten national security, including Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
  4. What is the number 1 worst prison in the world? Gitarama prison, Rwanda, is the worst prison in the world. It is the most crowded prison, built for 400 inmates but holds 7,000 people. Most prisoners are forced to stand barefoot on the filthy ground.
  5. Where is the most guarded prison in the world? San Pedro prison fits into this context because police officers guard it instead of a hired civilian force.
  6. Why did Alcatraz shut down? It did because the cost of operating the institution was too high.

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Every detention centre in the world is meant to provide security and punish offenders. Nevertheless, the most secure prison in the world is keeping high standards in restraining these criminals with its supermax facilities.

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Favour Adeaga (SEO author) Favour is an author, speaker, and coach. He graduated with a degree in Mass Communication from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2011. He had his internship programme at The Nation Newspaper and taught diploma students in Newspaper and Magazine course at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi. He curates the facts and life hacks category since 2018. Favour is the author of two books available on Amazon. He currently lives in Nigeria. favouradeaga@gmail.com