High-security Federal prisons, also known as United States Penitentiaries (USPs), house a smaller percentage of the Bureau’s population. Federal penitentiaries tend to be very dangerous, and extreme violence is commonplace in these environments. Typically, a USP is surrounded by a 40-foot concrete wall, as well as gun towers staffed with rifle-wielding sharpshooters. Other than the federal ADX supermax (discussed below), high-security federal prisons have the highest staff-to-inmate ratio and closest control of inmates.

Despite only holding about 12 percent of the federal prison population, more than half of the 2017 “less serious” and “more serious” assaults on inmates, as well as most assaults on staff, took place in high-security institutions. Gangs tend to run USPs, and as a result, fights and stabbings are commonplace.

Inmates designated to high-security institutions will almost certainly have a history of violence. Federal prisoners with more than 30 years left to serve generally must be placed in a USP. Inmates housed in USPs tend to be younger and have very high-security point totals.

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