Alcatraz Prison System - Research Paper Example

Because the function of the introduction is obvious, the subheading is not needed. The purpose of the introduction is to inform the reader of the specific problem under study, the research strategy used, and how the problem is related to prior work. Introduction to the Prison The prison location is the first thing that has to be explained for better understanding. The prison is located on an island, which is floating 2.4 Km away from the city of San Francisco, California, USA. The headings are bolded and centered.

The island is spread over an area of 22 acres. The prison also known as the “rock” has a very vast history. This island history predates the one of the prison. The island was first used by the US military as a guard of the San Francisco Bay area, barricading it with all the modern arsenal of the time. The island held buildings and barracks which were later used by the military for imprisonment of military prisoners in 1908, when the prisons of U.S got overcrowded. Civil Prison: The Early Years The barracks were taken over by the U.

S federal judiciary system in 1932. Complete take over from the military was due to the raising expenses of keeping the facility running. In 1934 extensive overhauling of the cells and other areas of the island started. The soft bars of the cells were replaced by state-of-the-art, foolproof grade steel. Basic utilities were provided in each and every cell, like electricity and water. The cells were small but sufficiently created to fulfill all the needs of a prisoner. The dimension of the cell was 9 x 5 feet.

The figure shows a schematic diagram of the cell at the Alcatraz. Figure extracted from: http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/interiorpage.html Certain efforts were made to ensure that prisoners did not hide in the tunnels that were used to route the utilities into the cell. Other protective methods were also applied. Some of them include barricaded windows with iron bars, making a path for the guards to walk the halls with guns, without being in touching distance with the prisoners. A central key area was made, which also operated as a central watch point for the guards.

The blocks were made in such a way that even if a prisoner escaped his cell, he would end up trapped up in his own cell block. Guard towers were placed in a military precision manner, as to monitor each and every movement in the day as well as in the night. Modern metal detectors were places in the dining hall so that prisoners cannot sneak out anything, which can be used as a tool or weapon. By the end on 1934, the prison was ready to hold its first batch of prisoners. Track Record Any prison or holding facility’s success for prisoners can be judged by some factors.

First and foremost being the number of successful escape attempts and secondly the discipline that prevails in this kind of prison. Especially when most of the inmates are professional criminals; who will take up any opportunity to break the law, even from inside the walls of a prison. Firstly, a little brief about the system of the prison. The prisoner were awaken at 630 am, marched to the dining hall, after which they went on to their daily jobs. The routine was lethal and unforgiving in any circumstance.

The guard to prisoner ratio was 1 guard to 3 prisoners. Strict rules were applied to make sure a strict time table was followed; any deviation was punished for (Madigen, 2008). This was one big positive as compared to the 12:1 all over the country, another factor which led to the extreme