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Inmates were not the only people who lived on Alcatraz. Prison staff members, including the warden and other top administrators, correctional officers, medical providers, and clerks, resided with their families on the island.
They lived in government-owned apartments, cottages, and houses. They had their own social club with a bowling alley and soda fountain, and a small convenience store. The children of staff members went to school in San Francisco every day by boat. As one long-time Alcatraz staff member observed, Alcatraz was like “a small town with a big jail.”
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Officers at Alcatraz were considered among the elite in the Bureau of Prisons. They received extensive training in prison procedures and regulations, legal requirements, self-defense, conflict resolution, marksmanship, rehabilitation programs, investigation techniques, Bureau policies, and the history of law enforcement.
To ensure good management, there was a clear chain-of-command at Alcatraz, with correctional officers under the close supervision of lieutenants and captains. The chief enforcement officer at Alcatraz was the warden, a high-ranking Federal official who reported to the Bureau of Prisons Director.
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