You may be curious about the type of prison you or a loved one will be sent to if you are facing a federal prison sentence. Federal prisons are classified into five security levels: minimum, low, medium, high, and administrative. Each level has different features and restrictions, depending on the inmates’ risk and needs. We will examine the highest security level in this article: maximum security prisons.
The most dangerous and violent offenders in the federal system are housed in maximum security prisons, which are also called penitentiaries. These inmates are serving long sentences or life imprisonment for serious crimes, such as murder, terrorism, espionage, or sex offenses. Some of them may also be on death row, waiting for their execution.
The environment of maximum security prisons is the most restrictive and secure, with electronic surveillance, guard towers, razor wire, and high walls. For most of the day, the inmates are confined to their cells, with limited activities and movement. There is a high staff-to-inmate ratio, and the security measures are tight.
The Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman (FCC Coleman) is the location of two maximum security prisons in Florida. Near Wildwood, in unincorporated Sumter County, Florida, is FCC Coleman Correctional Facility, a United States federal prison complex for male inmates. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The facility is located in central Florida, approximately 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Orlando, 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Tampa, and 35 miles (56 km) south of Ocala. 846 NE 54th Ter, Coleman, FL 33521 is the location of the complex. The complex has 1,600 acres (650 ha) of space. As of 2010, the complex houses 7,120 prisoners altogether, and 1,300 employees, and is the largest correctional facility operated in the nation, making it one of the largest employers in the county. Most prisoners, with the exception of prisoners housed at United States Coleman Penitentiary 1, are sentenced for drug-related crimes, and had not been convicted of violent acts. According to Rachel Monroe of The Atlantic, the prison has held several unusual or notable criminals.
They are all male, the prisoners at FCC Coleman Federal Prison Florida. On average, they have sentences of 10 years. Female prisoners, which previously were held at the adjacent satellite prison camp, had been raped by staff, and widespread sexual abuse has been tolerated, according to press reports. Due to lack of evidence, prosecutors have been unable to prosecute cases against the employees.
The complex is made up of four facilities: A low-security facility: FCI Coleman Low (Federal Correctional Institution, Coleman Low). A medium-security facility with a satellite prison camp for minimum-security inmates adjacent to it: FCI Coleman Medium (Federal Correctional Institution, Coleman Medium). A high-security facility: USP Coleman I (United States Penitentiary I, Coleman). A high-security facility: USP Coleman II (United States Penitentiary II, Coleman).