The Devil's Playground
Welcome to hell, also known as the "tent city jail" in Arizona
Welcome to Armavir in Armenia, a notorious prison built to break the decades-long chokehold of the Armenian mafia
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Browse the full episode guide for Behind Bars: The World's Toughest Prisons.
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The Horror Jail
Welcome to Antonio Mora prison in Madagascar, an overcrowded, under-staffed, disease-ridden hellhole
Prison City
Welcome to "prison city" in Bolivia, where the inmates run the show
The Jungle
Welcome to Dallas County Jail, one of the largest and harshest prisons in the world
Lose Hope to Survive
Welcome to Sofia Central Prison in Bulgaria, a decrepit place infamous for guard brutality
Notorious
Welcome to Miami-Dade Boot Camp, a special program within the brutal Miami-Dade prison
They'll Make You Pay
Welcome to Colony 100, the prison for hardened criminals in Ukraine
The President's Club
Welcome to South Cotabato Jail in the Philippines, a place ruled by a hierarchy of prisoners
The Fight Inside
Welcome to Carcel Distrial in Bogota, Columbia, a place where the guards fight a losing battle against drugs and addiction among inmates
Numb
Welcome back to Carcel Distrial in Bogota, Columbia, a place marked by drugs, violence, and harsh punishment
Powder Keg
Welcome to Longo, a maximum security prison in Baja, California, home to members of the dreaded cartel
Now Playing
Thieves in Law
Welcome to Armavir in Armenia, a notorious prison built to break the decades-long chokehold of the Armenian mafia
Rebellion
Welcome to La Mesa in Tijuana, Mexico, a place whose name strikes fear into the hearts of Mexicans and Americans
Nothing to Lose
The inmates serving life sentences in one of Ukraine's worst prisons present a constant threat to the guards
Prison in Paradise
Prisoners on the island of Maafusi are far from paradise
Gang Warfare
Rival gangs battle for power in Brazil's worst prisons
Play by the Rules
The female prisoners in the largest facility for women in the Philippines struggle with daily life, pregnancies, and violence
No Escape
In a fortress-like prison in Bosnia, the prisoners struggle to maintain their sense of humanity
We Need to be Brave
The guards of the Correctional Institution for Women face threats and violence — and they carry no weapons
About Behind Bars: The World's Toughest Prisons
Behind Bars takes you into the depths of the harshest prisons in the world. The shocking stories follow real prisoners and guards locked in a battle to survive and stay sane. Overcrowded and over-run by drugs, violence, and gangs, it takes more than grit to hold on to hope in the world's toughest prisons.
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Join the officers who turn up the heat on smugglers, seizing millions of contraband cigarettes and millions of pounds worth of illegal drugs.