ADX Florence

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United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility

Location in Colorado Show map of Colorado ADX Florence (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Fremont County, near Florence, Colorado
Coordinates	38°21′23″N 105°05′43″W / 38.35639°N 105.09528°W / 38.35639; -105.09528
Status	Operational
Security class	Administrative Maximum; colloquially Supermax
Population	330 inmates (May 2024)[1][2]
Opened	November 1994 (soft opening) January 1995 (full opening)
Managed by	Federal Bureau of Prisons
Warden	Andrew Ciolli
Website	www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/flm/

The United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX), commonly known as ADX Florence or the Florence Supermax, is an American federal prison in Fremont County to the south of Florence, Colorado, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. ADX Florence, constructed in 1994 and opened one year later, is classed as a supermax or "control unit" prison, that provides a higher, more controlled level of custody than a regular maximum security prison (or "high security", as it is called in the federal prison system).^[3] ADX Florence forms part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Florence (FCC Florence), which is situated on 49 acres (20 hectares) of land and houses different facilities with varying degrees of security, including the adjacent United States Penitentiary, Florence High.

ADX Florence was commissioned when the Federal Bureau of Prisons needed a unit designed specifically for the secure housing of those prisoners most capable of extreme violence toward staff or other inmates, as well as inmates deemed too high-profile or too great of a security risk for even a maximum security prison. The inmates are confined for the most part of the day in single cells with facilities made of poured, reinforced concrete to deter self-harm, and are under 24-hour supervision, carried out intensively with high staff–inmate ratios.