Page 24 - All About History - Issue 08-14

Crime

Day in the life

ALCATRAZ PRISON GUARD

KEEPING AN EYE ON AMERICA’S MOST

DANGEROUS PRISONERS, ALCATRAZ
ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCO BAY, 1933-63

Working in a prison can be a tense job at the best of times, but when the
prison is on Alcatraz Island, purportedly the most secure penitentiary in
the world and home to the notorious likes of Al Capone, Alvin Karpis and
George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly, this description becomes even more apt.
Yet life as a prison guard on Alcatraz was much like in any other
prison, with rigid routines to adhere to and stringent checks to be
made on all aspects of prison life. There was roughly one guard
for every three prisoners on Alcatraz – much higher than most
other prisons, where the ratio was about 1:12. With USA’s
most dangerous criminals in close proximity, the
employees always had to be on their guard.

START OF THE DAY

If assigned to an early shift, the officer would wake
up at around 6am in their home they shared with
their family. With Alcatraz being so remote and
inaccessible, prison officers lived on the island itself,
often taking their families with them. Any food and
grocery shopping had to be purchased during trips
to the mainland. The only facility on the island
itself was a small convenience store and post office.

ROLL CALL

The roll call took place between the front of the
main prison building and the lighthouse. The
primary purpose was to check whether the roster
of officers was sufficient to carry out the tasks
waiting for them in the day ahead, and as such
was relatively informal. Unlike other prisons, no
time was dedicated to the inspection of the prison
officers’ attire.

START OF SHIFT

After roll call, the officers would be assigned their
tasks for the day, after which their shift would
commence. Each shift was eight hours long, and
would generally be spent on one particular job; one
day might be spent in the Treatment Unit, where
the convicts were fed, and another might see them
assigned to the cell house. Officers were rotated
from one job post to another every three months to
ensure that they did not become too comfortable
and complacent in their roles.

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