SAN FRANCISCO: US President Donald Trump鈥檚 plan to turn Alcatraz back into a federal prison was summarily rejected on Monday by some visitors to the tourist site in San Francisco Bay.
Trump revealed a plan over the weekend to rebuild and expand the notorious island prison, a historic landmark known as 鈥淭he Rock鈥� and operated by the US government鈥檚 National Park Service. It鈥檚 鈥渏ust an idea I鈥檝e had,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e need law and order in this country. So we鈥檙e going to look at it,鈥� he added on Monday.
Once nearly impossible to leave, the island can be difficult to get to because of competition for tickets. Alcatraz prison held fewer than 300 inmates at a time before it was closed in 1963 and draws roughly 1.2 million tourists a year.
US Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall said on Monday he would vigorously pursue the president鈥檚 agenda and was looking at next steps.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a waste of money,鈥� said visitor Ben Stripe from Santa Ana, California. 鈥淎fter walking around and seeing this place and the condition it鈥檚 in, it is just way too expensive to refurbish.鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not feasible to have somebody still live here,鈥� agreed Cindy Lacomb from Phoenix, Arizona, who imagined replacing all the metal in the cells and rebuilding the crumbling concrete.
The sprawling site is in disrepair, with peeling paint and rusting locks and cell bars. Signs reading 鈥淎rea closed for your safety鈥� block off access to many parts of the grounds. Chemical toilets sit next to permanent restrooms closed off for repair.
The former home of Al Capone and other notable inmates was known for tough treatment, including pitch-black isolation cells. It was billed as America鈥檚 most secure prison given the island location, frigid waters and strong currents.
It was closed because of high operating costs. The island also was claimed by Native American activists in 1969, an act of civil disobedience acknowledged by the National Park Service.
Mike Forbes, visiting from Pittsburgh, said it should remain a part of history. 鈥淚鈥檓 a former prison guard and rehabilitation is real. Punishment is best left in the past,鈥� Forbes said.
No successful escapes were ever officially recorded from Alcatraz, though five prisoners were listed as 鈥渕issing and presumed drowned.鈥�
Today a 鈥淪upermax鈥� facility located in Florence, Colorado, about 115 miles (185 km) south of Denver, is nicknamed the 鈥淎lcatraz of the Rockies.鈥� No one has ever escaped from that 375-inmate facility since it opened in 1994.
Congress in fiscal year 2024 cut the Bureau of Prisons infrastructure budget by 38 percent and prison officials have previously reported a $3 billion maintenance backlog. The Bureau of Prisons last year said it would close aging prisons, as it struggled with funding cuts.