Hoover oversaw the creation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1930. This organization oversees the administration of the federal prison system. Under its first director, Sanford Bates, the bureau instituted training for prison guards, built new prisons such as Alcatraz, and improved health care for inmates. Hoover’s interest in penal reform had escalated after a notorious riot at the Leavenworth penitentiary in Kansas in 1929.