I Build Prisons… The Truth About Alcatraz, Rikers & Maximum Security | Don Halloran

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Don Halloran, President of Folger Adams, joins Locked In with Ian Bick to break down the systems that keep prisons running from the inside out. In this episode, we dive into everything from repairing cells at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and why it’s unlikely to ever reopen due to extreme costs and infrastructure challenges, to the ongoing shutdown of Rikers Island and what’s replacing it. Don explains how modern prison cells are built, including solitary confinement units, high-security locking systems, and the technology that controls every door in a facility. We also get into the different types of prison locks, how lockdowns actually work, and what it takes to maintain security inside some of the most dangerous environments in the country. _____________________________________________ #PrisonLife #PrisonCells #TrueCrime #PrisonSystem #BehindBars #PrisonSecrets #SecuritySystems #lockedinpodcast _____________________________________________ Connect with Don Halloran: https://www.southernfolger.com/ _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Inside How Prisons Are Built (Full Story) 01:56 Entering the Prison Industry & First Jobs 05:52 Owning a Prison Business & Industry Changes 10:16 First Time Inside a Prison Facility 13:16 Prison Construction Boom & Market Trends 17:16 How Prison Cells Are Built & Installed 22:00 Prison Design: Security, Safety & Contraband Prevention 27:00 Solitary Confinement & Effects on Inmates 30:32 International Prisons vs U.S. Prisons 34:32 Prison Escapes, Maintenance & Cell Security 41:36 Alcatraz Stories & Reopening Challenges 46:01 Modern Prison Tech & Rehabilitation Efforts 52:01 Keys, Locks & Prison Security Systems 56:00 Personal Stories from Inside the Industry 01:00:00 Prison Living Conditions: Heat, Space & Reality _____________________________________________ To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Inspired by jet engine silences.
0:03.0	The Dyson Hushjet Purify powerfully purifies the entire room, quietly.
0:10.0	Capturing pollen, allergens and pet dander, removing odours and harmful gases such as NO2, day and night.
0:20.0	Hushjet. which is NO2, day and night.
0:28.6	Hushjet, powerful compact purification, that's quiet.
0:32.6	When you go out of the country internationally, go down into South America, like I've been down to Ecuador,
0:35.6	like I come up to the prison there's a tank in the
0:39.1	rec yard and the main building of the prison there's inmates on the roof walking around I'm like
0:45.2	this is really bad how many facilities prisons do you think you've been to over the course of your
0:50.4	career hundreds maybe a thousand my name's Don Halloran and I'm with Southern Folger and we build prisons and jails and provide
0:59.7	all the locking systems for prisons and jails.
1:02.2	Don Holleran talks about building the prison cells used across the country, how prison
1:06.3	locking systems actually work, repairing cells at Alcatraz, Wyatt will likely never reopen, and what's
1:13.1	really happening with Rikers Island shutting down.
1:20.1	So every time I sit on a plane and I'm sitting there and someone's sitting next to me,
1:24.1	they'll ask me, so what do you do for work? And I'll say, well, you've never met anyone like me. And they're like, well, what do you mean? I said, well, we build prisons and jails and all our equipment goes into prisons and jails. And they're like, what? What is that? So, I mean, we build everything. The locks, the doors, the frames, the cells, everything. So it usually people have never met a person like myself.
1:46.9	It's kind of a unique world.
1:48.6	Do you like having those conversations and talking about it?
1:51.3	Yeah, I don't mind it.
1:52.4	You know, I'm very proud of the company I work for.
1:55.4	It's well known.
1:56.4	It's the market leader all over the world.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ian Bick, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ian Bick and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.