New York, North America

In the 1990s this huge prison would have stood head and shoulders above the rest as the most violent prison on the planet. It is Rikers that has inspired the modern day prison system portrayed in the mass media as a corrupt and brutal world ruled over by gangs.

In 2008 on average, only 70 stabbings take place a year – an impressive figure when the prison holds 15,000. But in 1998 that figure was close to 1,000.