Life In Prison (Predators And Prey) Prison Documentary

Summary

The documentary explores life inside Santa Rita Jail, Oakland, California, one of the largest jails in the US, housing numerous gang-related inmates. The film delves into the constant battle between the authorities and the prison's gang members, emphasizing the stark choices inmates must make: join a gang for protection or navigate the dangers alone. It reveals the challenges of maintaining order amidst prevalent gang rivalries, violence, and contraband, along with illustrating the gang unit's efforts to decode and act on gang intelligence. This sobering documentary highlights the impact of gang culture both within the prison and on the streets.

Highlights

• Santa Rita Jail is the fifth largest jail in the US, with a large percentage of inmates affiliated with violent gangs. 🏢
• Inmates often bring street rivalries and vendettas into the jail, heightening tensions. ⚔️
• Protective measures include gang classification and constant shakedowns by deputies to maintain control. 🚓
• Contraband, such as homemade alcohol and weapons, pose persistent challenges to order. 🍷
• Intelligence work is crucial for decoding gang affiliations and preventing conflicts inside the prison walls. 🕵️‍♂️

Key Takeaways

• Inmates must choose between joining a gang for protection or facing dangers alone. 🦈
• Gang dynamics and vendettas from the streets carry into the jail, making violence a constant threat. 🥊
• The jail's gang unit works tirelessly to maintain control, facing challenges in a revolving inmate population. 🚨
• Contraband, like weapons and alcohol, are rampant, complicating the maintenance of order. 🍻
• Life in jail can serve as a training ground for future prison inmates, where lessons in survival are learned. 📚

Overview

Santa Rita Jail stands as a microcosm of street gang dynamics, intensified within confined walls. As the fifth largest jail in the US, it poses unique challenges for both inmates and deputies. For many, joining a gang is a survival tactic, offering protection against the ever-present threats that accompany gang affiliations and rivalries.

Deputy sheriffs at Santa Rita face the constant task of managing a large and ever-changing population, where contraband like weapons and homemade alcohol are rampant. Gang units are dedicated to preemptive action, using intelligence and rapid response to disrupt planned violence and maintain a fragile peace.

The documentary paints a vivid picture of jail life, capturing the tension, strategies, and survival tactics employed by both inmates and officers. It serves as a sobering reminder of how deeply intertwined prison life is with gang culture, affecting not only those inside but also the broader community beyond the prison walls.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:30: Introduction to Santa Rita Jail Santa Rita Jail, located near Oakland, California, is the fifth largest jail in America. It is characterized by violent gangs and many rival groups that bring their street rivalries into the jail environment. Inmates face a crucial decision: join a gang for protection or face the dangers of being unaligned. Isolation can make inmates vulnerable to constant threats and violence.
• 02:30 - 06:00: Daily Life and Threats in Jail In this chapter, the focus is on the daily life and inherent dangers within a jail setting. It is depicted as a 'proving ground' for young inmates who learn from older, more experienced gangsters. The importance of sticking with one's race is emphasized, highlighting the racial tensions and divisions prevalent in such environments. Meanwhile, the jail's gang unit is portrayed as being in a perpetual struggle to maintain order and security amidst these threats. Weapons, even as small as a razor blade hidden in the cheek, pose constant risks, underscoring the persistent fight for control between inmates and deputies.
• 06:00 - 11:00: Gang Influence and Control "Gang Influence and Control" explores the reality and challenges of managing prison gangs. The chapter opens with a tense scene at Santa Rita Jail, where deputies are gearing up with protective gear and non-lethal weapons following an inmate's attack on a deputy. The plan involves starting with a shakedown in a specific housing unit, signaling the persistent danger and need to reassert control over gang-influenced areas within the corrections facility.
• 11:00 - 15:00: Classification and Intelligence Gathering The chapter titled 'Classification and Intelligence Gathering' describes an incident that occurred during a routine inmate transfer. An inmate seized an unexpected opportunity to instigate an assault in the early morning hours, illustrating the constant threat of violence within the jail environment. The narrative focuses on the necessity for a swift, measured, and decisive response in such situations. It also highlights the preparedness required by deputies when entering the general population, due to potential resistance from inmates.
• 15:00 - 20:00: Inmate Dynamics and Issues This chapter discusses the dynamics and issues faced by inmates within a jail environment. It highlights the necessity for the jail to respond appropriately to various situations, such as fights or disturbances, by using the correct amount of force and mobilizing the right number of personnel. The element of surprise is emphasized as a crucial tactic, especially during shakedowns, to maintain control and order within the institution.
• 20:00 - 25:00: Yard Time and Inmate Segregation The chapter "Yard Time and Inmate Segregation" describes the atmosphere in Santa Rita Jail. Following an incident where a deputy is attacked, security measures intensify. Even minor actions of defiance lead to consequences for inmates, such as being handcuffed. This heightened tension prompts deputies to conduct thorough searches of every cell, systematically flipping bunks and checking for contraband items like weapons, drugs, and alcohol. The search proves effective as several illicit items are discovered.
• 25:00 - 30:00: Challenges in Maintaining Order The chapter discusses the challenges of maintaining order within a facility, particularly focusing on the issue of homemade alcohol known as 'pruno.' The concoction, made from basic ingredients like apple juice and sugar, ferments into an alcoholic beverage that often serves as a catalyst for fights among individuals. The presence of alcohol leads to increased confidence, resulting in more frequent altercations. The staff manages this situation on a routine basis, but prioritize moving individuals to different housing units if they pose a threat, such as when staff are threatened following assaults. This prioritization is part of the strategy to maintain control and ensure safety within the environment.
• 30:00 - 35:00: Protective Custody and Dropouts In this chapter, the narrative focuses on Santa Rita Jail, Alameda County's primary incarceration facility near Oakland, housing over four thousand inmates. It highlights the constant struggle for control within the jail, exacerbated by frequent contraband searches that yield significant amounts of illegal items, including gallons of alcohol. Santa Rita Jail stands as the fifth largest in the United States, emphasizing the scale and challenges of maintaining order in such a large facility.
• 35:00 - 40:00: Conflicts and Consequences Chapter Title: Conflicts and Consequences The chapter describes a sprawling correctional facility that extends half a mile from end to end, comprising two main wings. On the east side, the facility houses over 300 inmates in protective custody units and minimum security areas. Meanwhile, the west side is designated for maximum security inmates, featuring double-bunked cells and administrative segregation units used for inmates on 23-hour daily lockdown. Annually, the facility manages up to 60,000 inmates, illustrating the scale and complexity of its operations.
• 40:00 - 45:00: Gang Impact and Personal Reflections The chapter highlights the ever-present threat of violence within the inmate population at Santa Rita, emphasizing that 40% of inmates hail from Oakland, a city plagued by severe gang-related violence. This has resulted in a troubling period in Oakland, with over a hundred murders annually over four years and more than 22,000 incidents of violent crime.

Life In Prison (Predators And Prey) Prison Documentary Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Santa Rita Jail near Oakland California is the fifth largest in America jail can be a world of violent gangs hundreds of clicks that bring rivalries and vendetta's from the streets behind bars for many life here means making a choice join a gang or live without protection you've got to run with somebody because if you're out there by yourself there are sharks watching you left and right
• 00:30 - 01:00 jail becomes a proving ground where old-time gangsters teach youngsters the road supposed to respect your race you always try to stick which I wrestle trying to stay a step ahead of these gangsters is the jail's gang unit working to keep the peace in a world fraught with hidden danger the majority of probably do have weapons right now it could be just a small razor blade stuck in the side of the cheek it could be anything it's a constant battle for control between the deputies and the
• 01:00 - 01:30 prison gangs [Music] this morning in the staff must a room at Santa Rita Jail deputies are arming themselves with flak jackets and non-lethal weapons all in preparation for a shakedown just hours earlier a deputy was attacked by an inmate [Music] we're gonna be going out to starting out with housing 33 we're gonna be doing a shakedown and on housing in it we did have a deputy that was assaulted this morning as you guys know we're just gonna go back down and reestablish in
• 01:30 - 02:00 control and remind these guys this is our house ready the assault happened in the early morning hours during a routine transfer an inmate saw his opportunity and struck jail is a world where violence is a constant threat in cases like this the response must be swift measured and decisive and when deputies head out into general population they have to be prepared inmates may resist
• 02:00 - 02:30 or fight back each situation is different and the jail must respond with the appropriate force and numbers in the case of shakedowns the element of surprise is key Oh chiz like these on a
• 02:30 - 03:00 fixture of life here at Santa Rita Jail but when a deputy is attacked everything becomes more intense and even the slightest show of defiance can get an inmate handcuffed [Music] let's go the deputies search every cell and turn over every bunk their aim is to find contraband like weapons drugs and alcohol already the search is getting results they uncover dozens of
• 03:00 - 03:30 containers of homemade alcohol called pruno some sugar in there and apple juice and then just tighten it up and it starts fermenting it's the catalyst for a lot of fights people start drinking and they get that liquid courage and then a lot of fights break out we do this on a routine basis however if you're gonna be that to that housing unit that today you're gonna threaten our staff well we'd move you to the top of the list and today they threatened our staff based on an assault that took place this morning we're moving to the top of the list
• 03:30 - 04:00 more than 150 inmates will be searched today yielding gallons of alcohol but the fight for control here is never ending driven by one simple fact this is the fifth largest jail in America [Applause] Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail near Oakland houses four thousand inmates 18 housing units stretch the length of the
• 04:00 - 04:30 sprawling facility a full half mile from end to end there are two wings the east side has protective custody units and minimum security doors that house more than 300 inmates on the west side maximum security inmates are housed in double bunked cells and administrative segregation units hold problem inmates on lockdown 23 hours a day as many as 60 thousand inmates passed through here each year
• 04:30 - 05:00 creating an ever-changing inmate population and the threat of violence is always present heightening that threat is a stark reality 40 percent of Santa ritas inmates come from Oakland and Oakland has a serious the gangs here have contributed to a violent stretch in Oakland more than a hundred murders four years running and over 22,000 violent
• 05:00 - 05:30 crimes it all adds up to a steady stream of fresh arrests headed straight to Santa Rita the streets of Oakland set the tone here and roughly half of the inmates have gang affiliations and often bring vendetta's and rivalries with them from the street keeping control means constant vigilance that begins the moment inmates walk through the door
• 05:30 - 06:00 deputy Terry Carson is working at the intake area known as ITR have you been charged with any assaults on the police in church with any assaults and other inmates Carson interviews inmates to determine their criminal past what sort of crime they're charged with and what threat they might pose to other inmates the information is used to classify inmates and here in Santa Rita Jail they are color-coded accordingly
• 06:00 - 06:30 inmates given blue jumpsuits are considered medium security posing a low threat yellow is given to those with heavy charges or a history of violence behind bars ok each one of these represents the year that you did in prison red means that inmate is headed to protective custody or administrative segregation given what the case was essential state prison yeah attempted murder and when you're in San Quentin how many points did you have it
• 06:30 - 07:00 is classification born out of necessity and attempted to keep the peace with so many gang members at Santa Rita making sure rivals are separated is key you see somebody that's office it's a sureno entertainer opposite of you from your sureno you better get off on that no Tanya that's all there is to it that's the Pollux and if you dome
• 07:00 - 07:30 we're gonna do something year but new tensions between gangs can heat up at any minute so the jail has created a special unit to track the ever-changing gang world Terri Carson is part of the team and so is mark Schlegel together they make up the gang classification unit and their office wall is lined with one of the keys to understanding the gang world coded artwork you have a Kumi four one five over here West Oakland x4
• 07:30 - 08:00 Norte hidden in the drawings are important clues of affiliation of rivalries and of potential conflict it's all part of a story that translates to the history written on the inmates themselves tattoos these guys come across the counter you'll see the same type of artwork on your skin so they tell me a story fourteenth letter the alphabet which is N which is stands for North Bay you'll
• 08:00 - 08:30 also see 14 on white supremacy eyes but that means totally different these guys don't put this stuff on a piece of paper or on embodies without a reason or a story behind it decoding of the story may be vital to keeping the peace here behind bars but the gang unit serves an even greater purpose they are building a record of each gang member one that will follow them to prison or back out onto the streets it's valuable intelligence that gets shared with Corrections and police alike but the challenge for the gang unit is daunting there are hundreds
• 08:30 - 09:00 of cliques and gangs in California and on any given day behind the walls of Santa Rita many of them are represented you got Porter Brothers you got everybody priceless blacks whites if enemies are housed together violence will follow and right now in maximum housing unit 6 is a graphic reminder of that reality crime-scene cleanup is already here removing the remnants of a violent fight that started just hours earlier yeah we
• 09:00 - 09:30 had a just opened the doors for dinner feeding that inmate ran down here from cell 14 entered the cell attacked the other inmate had a razor blade attached to a short piece of plastic tried to slice along the facial area the injured inmates have been taken to medical where the attacker may face charges for assault it's still unclear whether the fight was gang-related
• 09:30 - 10:00 beautyrx news like the garden war and i saw a story of the days that the unit is under constant pressure to get it right to decode thousands of pieces of intelligence and gang writings for drops yeah but it's a one in a three yes this could be Serena's hurry and blow it into anyway the challenge identify the new rivals and separate them before things get fun Santa Rita Jail near Oakland in
• 10:00 - 10:30 California is the fifth largest in America it's populated by some of California's most violent street gangs here managing four thousand inmates is all about establishing control it's 3:00 a.m. on Friday night and see team is working it's over night shift roughly 60 arrests have come in tonight to be printed tagged and processed late
• 10:30 - 11:00 in the shift deputy John White and the rest of the team are still on alert in an area where anything can happen this is intake transfer and release known as ITR and it's where arrestees become inmates we're real careful at this point this is our most dangerous portion of ITR we found anything from narcotics knives guns we found everything in these cells after they leave the mood is always tense but
• 11:00 - 11:30 tonight has gone smoothly but as every deputy knows the later it gets the greater the chance for trouble we're roughly ten hours into our ship right now and every minute every every second you have to be attended there all your surroundings around the corner in the pat-down area that vigilance pays off when an inmate makes a move at a deputy the response is quick measured
• 11:30 - 12:00 are designed to make one point clear this is Jail you have to set the tone because they come across and they they're not fully automated to being interested they don't realize they are not in control anymore this is a vigil that came across he's intoxicated they came across attempted to search him became combative so far safety for his safety we went ahead and we restrained him brought him back to the back it happens every night alcohol
• 12:00 - 12:30 does funny things to people and unfortunately this is where they usually end up this inmate will sober up in a back tank of ITR by night it's a quiet corner for problem inmates but in the morning the mood changes radically as ITR transforms into the bustling hub of the jail [Music] there are more than 30 tanks here and on average 400 inmates moved through here
• 12:30 - 13:00 each day on busy days that number goes as high as 600 every inmate on their way to and from court headed off to prison being processed or released comes through these halls control is key here but can prove difficult in an area where the deputies are outnumbered you've got you know anywhere from 8 to 12 people on a shift working down here but at any given time you could be working with up
• 13:00 - 13:30 to 300 inmates so let's get it done noise check it with so many inmates to keep track off on busy days the system backs up that can create tension especially in the larger tanks known as the bullpen typically there are less than 20 detainees in here when deputies fall behind that number Rises and the bullpen heats up on a hot day in the middle of July you
• 13:30 - 14:00 open the door and it's literally like a sauna hit you in the face you can feel the moisture in the air like when you open up your oven at home after you cook something I mean the more bodies that are in the tanks obviously the hotter it gets in there and more talking going on and tempers typical kind of flare sometimes it's all concrete and you just sit in there and get hot the VIN stop blowing hot air is thanking people for a minute keep playing in it and they say you know somebody say something there go boom it's like fire to gasoline I saw they
• 14:00 - 14:30 take you for me open holding tanks are used at jails across the country with a mixture of inmates all on edge the atmosphere is tense and flare ups are imminent away from the deputies view fights can break out at any moment and escalate as other inmates within the tanks become involved [Music] the ever-present threat of fights keeps the pressure on the ITR staff inmates
• 14:30 - 15:00 can't avoid the bullpen so it's vital that the deputies get them out or back to the cell houses fast as the day comes to an end deputy Scott Brandon moves more than 60 inmates back to the units with the inmates on the shackle there's one basic goal keep them moving you want to kind of keep them going in the same direction with a minimal amount of distraction so if you can get them
• 15:00 - 15:30 moving all in the same direction that looks like somewhat of a straight line then to me you're doing your job and you're getting it done if the whole goal is not to get into a fight with everybody you see it just it can't run like that and the long and short of it is these aren't children these are grown men so they're gonna act the way they're gonna act for inmates leaving ITR marks the end of a long day but for those returning to sell houses like 34 the stress is just beginning
• 15:30 - 16:00 it's all supposed to book won't you take a closer look at those casts the pressure and I'm the fear press and exit each talking Bobby Plus going to tear teaching not to run there are 328 inmates here the maximum allowed and just two deputies overseeing them all during free time like this known as pod time it's loud crowded and governed by a code set by the inmates themselves it
• 16:00 - 16:30 mates like Chris card it's mostly respect your race if you are my try to stick which I'll race you know me in this particular power we got the black hole while we sitting there from this bug on down we try to keep it on African Americans and toward the middle other diversities they break up into different sects you know me it's a separation that is stark and visible throughout the cell house a racially divided world that inmates believe promotes the peace yet the racial divide here hides a more
• 16:30 - 17:00 deep-seated separation in this dorm as with most sell houses here the gangs are watching every table every staircase every phone is territory to be marked and held much of it claimed by the dominant gang the norteños who have their own bylaws and codes rules followed by former gang members like lucky everybody has a one-game sacred the second body everyone has a role in the game everybody does because no matter if
• 17:00 - 17:30 you're way up here way down here you're still contributing something say that there's a cell right here okay this door opens 27 times a day me my job is to be in this cell and watch that door like chopped down every time that door open okay that's my job I'm part of something I am doing so we're in a gang
• 17:30 - 18:00 in a little Daniel gang sitting it's by law you work out if you don't you will be disciplined and you'll be dealt with accordingly that's the way it is the gangs and codes here provide a structure making it both a jail and a recruitment ground though inmates claim that segregation keeps the peace fights do break out and when this happens it's each race and each gang for themselves leave - then we don't rap we go in we
• 18:00 - 18:30 don't rock ain't no he is there no press about nothing man if they kick off man we finna get on top of your helmet man straight up take no prisoners cuz you anybody I'm not gonna go home and obey fellas let's go fellas lockdown after three hours pod time comes to an end and the inmates head back to their cells the deputies walk through each of the tanks where 36 men are double bunked
• 18:30 - 19:00 behind mesh for the night they confirm that all are present and accounted for and perform a final spot check for any contraband in dorms like 34 the numbers are heavily in favor of the inmate so for them lockdown means the night is just beginning and it's time for a cell house party a feast of food purchased from the jail complete with homemade alcohol the city of Oakland California
• 19:00 - 19:30 has one of America's highest crime rates with more than a hundred murders in each of the past three years police are investigating Oakland third quarter of the weekend 40% of Santa ritas inmates come from Oakland and many of them are in gangs it's the first stop for the accused on their way to trial but with
• 19:30 - 20:00 thousands of repeat offenders coming through the door each year it also serves another purpose Santa Rita is like a training ground for prison on the jail's East End dom34 is heading outside for a weekday ritual yardcore all 328 inmates are out together and while it may seem like a time for recreation and games as much more going on than meets the eye from the guard
• 20:00 - 20:30 tower above deputies mark Schlegel and Terry Carson of the gang classification unit look on being able to sit up here and watch people working out in the yard you can see if there's tensions going on who's got some Authority and and who the bodyguards are as you look down here you can see that although northern Hispanics are down here at the end of the yard doing their workout program push-ups and
• 20:30 - 21:00 all the different types of exercises they got going on and then talking about business at the same time and their position in certain places to keep an eye out of what's going on you know if you look down there you see a guy he's all by himself standing by then pull-up bars right down there see how he's standing there with his back to them guys working out he's standing guard the yard is all about territory different gangs carving up their own sections their own turf norteños control the
• 21:00 - 21:30 handball courts black gangs ruled a basketball court and other Latinos on the volleyball court the yard has a strict set of rules set by group leaders you have is you have every faction out there you have black bgf blood [ __ ] you got the northerners and southerners you got whites I don't want to do it nobody else no other race they're not gonna get in my way you're not gonna step on my game you know that's it you stay on your side of them grounds I stay on mine you
• 21:30 - 22:00 cross my ground it's over you know I will kick the yard off I don't care the rigid structure can be seen almost everywhere and in a jail dominated by gangs going it alone seems a difficult option you've got to run with somebody okay because sooner or later you're gonna get caught up in a situation where who you're gonna turn to yourself you know because if you're out there by yourself there are sharks watching you
• 22:00 - 22:30 left and right they're gonna come try to use you they're gonna come try something to get over on you that's how it works and these guys I don't say good majority of probably do have weapons right now it could be just a small razor blade stuck in the side of the cheek or it could be you know toothbrushes sharpened down in their sock it could be anything the threat of violence is just one part of life on the yard for inmates headed for serious time the yard is also a proving ground and the lessons learned here are carried forward to prison
• 22:30 - 23:00 where the stakes are even higher many of California's most infamous prison yards are dominated by hardened gangs and their clashes can be deadly [Music] even in this seemingly chaotic environment the rules of engagement are strict and clear whoever's having the issues against each other their channel or their shot color
• 23:00 - 23:30 will come and let you know hey back the GUP for a while we're going to go get off if you want to get involved let us know [Music] you have to know who's who / or who's helping who out to know when it's going to jump off but you can pretty much tell I mean you'll see it you'll see the grouping up you'll see everybody getting in position and then next you know it's mayhem this riot at California's Pelican
• 23:30 - 24:00 Bay prison probably started after tensions built between rival gangs the conflict lasted for more than a half an hour as corrections officers tried to regain control in the end more than 20 inmates were injured the threat is always there you can you know you can walk past some guy and look at him just like you know the Sun being rise and you look down with your eyes like you know and he'll run up on you what the hell you looking at nothing oh I'm not nothing saying it could go just a domino
• 24:00 - 24:30 effect of you know you're just saying the wrong things the constant threat of violence has created a surprising shift gang members behind bars are turning their backs on gangster life they're called dropouts and they make up more than half of the inmates in protective custody here at Santa Rita and Brian Curtis is one of them leaving gang life behind is no easy task Curless is in on a parole violation and
• 24:30 - 25:00 is waiting for his sentence which could mean a return to prison he has a coveted job as a pod worker but his criminal record makes him a three strikes candidate meaning a new charge could get him a life sentence and as a former gang member the aggressive mentality runs deep that's like now I'm a worker here I tell people straight up if you don't like the way I'm doing something here's where I live coming singer breakfast you know I don't have no problem with it but at the
• 25:00 - 25:30 same time I don't wanna get a fight cuz we strike candidate you know it's like Curless is walking a fine line one slip could land him behind bars for 25 years to life Santa Rita Jail holds criminals from some of Oakland's most dangerous gangs the gang members sell houses and yards are a harsh training ground where the inmates are indoctrinated into the gang code for the deputies keeping the
• 25:30 - 26:00 peace is a never-ending challenge that requires more than just watching over the inmates it requires constant surveillance and vigilance and today in dorm 32 deputies Carson and Schlegel of the gang unit are following up on some fresh intelligence lower-tier stay off the carpet upper-tier stay off the stairs again this is apparently about a week ago from the information we're getting they removed some of the guys
• 26:00 - 26:30 that had a lot of say in this pot for the HISP and within hispanics they were taken out and during that time that kind of you have a void there so there's always gonna be a little power struggle within the group do you say who's gonna step up and call the shots in the rigid gang structure behind bars the shot-caller is the one in charge he runs the door decides who finds who but he also keeps the peace without him even more fights could break out so the
• 26:30 - 27:00 gang unit is trying to figure out who is stepping up next figuring that out can be tough in this constantly shifting environment one of the things that they do as leaders is to help train everybody else is coming in here or make sure that people understand you know the structure in there this is a county jail when you in the county jail it's not like we're in prison where people are in there for four years at a time they're in for short periods of time and so there's a lot of turnover and there's a lot of
• 27:00 - 27:30 people coming and going that constant turnover is one of the key challenges to keeping control here Santa Rita seized nearly sixty thousand inmates each year from all over Alameda County so rivals from the street can easily end up housed next to each other and that can spell trouble just as the jail is constantly looking to classify any incoming gang members the gangs themselves have their own strict classification process and just like the jail it begins from the moment
• 27:30 - 28:00 an inmate walks into a new cell house when they come in they have to check in and let me check in after year from the time they started coming into custody a first crime that they ever committed to up until now they have to list each and every crime that they committed where they went where they stayed what state prison they were in who does cell he was and all that stuff so they have to have that track record there's like brighten up their resume these gang resumes are compiled on notes and other key means of communication between the gang members the writing on the note is tiny
• 28:00 - 28:30 called micro writing and some get moved throughout the facility and checked out for intelligence on new inmates [Music] information flows from one into this facility to the other end of the facility on a daily basis and the reason why it does that and our central location of a point is they want to get information out they can put it on laundry carts they can put it on our food carts that go back to our kitchen area which our minimum inmates work and if they want to get information for say housing unit seven thing the workers come out there and put it onto a food court or Larney car it's an underground
• 28:30 - 29:00 background check a poll taken of the inmates in the jail to see whether a new arrival checks out and can be trusted if a new gang member checks out he assumes his role in the gang structure if the information doesn't check out the consequences can be severe and over in the muster room for the maximum security side of the jail our unit is gathering for an urgent mission a deputy has intercepted a note that contains hints
• 29:00 - 29:30 so there's a weapon in housing unit seven and there's additional intelligence that an attack is in the works one of the guys in b-boy pod is saying that they have a weapon 1rb constructed in two at Omaha we're assuming RB is originally so that's kind of what we're gonna be looking for it could have been passed from from be obviously anywhere in the house we're gonna do a B and C pod as a search in addition to rumors of a weapon in the dorm the note lists the names of some Latinos
• 29:30 - 30:00 housed there I have a list here babies and see pod of some of the Norteno known and just known affiliates this dorm is the target for today's raid finding the weapon is the mission it can be tucked in a book could be anywhere it could be a mattress that's slice open stuck in the foam you know anywhere so we're going to make sure we do a good job especially with the the northern ourselves we'll just go in you know do our job get her done
• 30:00 - 30:30 the team moves out to housing unit seven where the inmates are already on lockdown when the deputies arrive the water is shut off to prevent anything from being flushed down the toilet I know shirts step out an operation like this relies on the speed getting all of the inmates out of their cells before they have a chance to destroy evidence
• 30:30 - 31:00 those who buck the system are immediately removed once out the inmates are patted down and then placed in holding areas as the search begins every cell is turned over in a search for contraband homemade alcohol anything that's not allowed but the real focus is a potential weapon and over in c-pod one cell is receiving special attention so
• 31:00 - 31:30 this was my my hopeful so hoping that we it would be in here hopefully they didn't get rid of the the deputy finds nothing and throughout the rest of the cell house the search yields contraband there's a jail mate
• 31:30 - 32:00 tattoo gun but no weapons downstairs they found more notes and more names these show people that just arrived it looks like names and P offense it may just be the break the team's been looking for a deputy takes the notes back to Carson and Schlegel of the gang classification unit for inspection this is from Seaford this was an f-bomb okay
• 32:00 - 32:30 the fresh intelligence demands immediate attention decoding the writing is a tedious job but buried inside could be more important information about gang members weapons and even new hits okay we know this guy he will take hours to pour over the Micra notes so back in cell house seven the search for the contraband continues and the deputies have had a lucky break
• 32:30 - 33:00 one of the envelopes was adjust to a cell and F pod cell one we understand there's a newer guy that's over there in the Norteno affiliation so we're thinking that they may have something over there as well the focus of the search narrows now rather than searching an entire pod the team moves in on three sounds and one of them is the real target the inmates are quickly removed and the deputies move in checking mattresses
• 33:00 - 33:30 combing through books but still no weapon out in the common space a deputy spots something wedged under the television it could be what they came here for yeah a blade the dangerous weapon is removed
• 33:30 - 34:00 from cell house seven and for now at least a possible gang hit is averted another small victory in a world where the threat of conflict is constant over in protective custody Brian Curtis still marks his days at Santa Rita trying his best to stay out of harm's way in a world of violence
• 34:00 - 34:30 Curless is on a parole violation but has turned his back on gang life it's a decision that makes him a constant target even here in protective custody I don't think you're any safer here then you're on the mainland at any time anything you do you know you sit at the wrong table you use the wrong shower it could get you hurt gang members despise dropouts they are traitors of the highest order
• 34:30 - 35:00 that makes them targets wherever they go especially behind bars where gangs set the unofficial rules while gang initiation is often violent getting kicked out is even worse it's called a removal a quick but violent act where a gang member slices another in the face with a weapon the slice leaves a permanent mark and lets other gang members know that the target is a dropout what they call no good
• 35:00 - 35:30 I've seen people get their face sliced open have their ear knocked off all the way across to be a dropout moon looks like you're hated you're handed a lot people literally 100% want to kill you by being placed in protective custody the dropouts are already marked by the
• 35:30 - 36:00 red jumpsuits they wear so far Curly's hasn't been attacked but anything's possible in jail there's something you got to deal with you know as you get older you're wiser so I starts assaulting me I'm gonna fight back you know I'm gonna defend myself to the fullest you got to be stronger than the average person around here pellets will soon find out his sentence until then he's constantly on edge always looking over his shoulder Santa Rita Jail is a
• 36:00 - 36:30 revolving door for some of Oakland California's most violent gangs an estimated 30,000 people with gang affiliations come through here each year and deputies are always on their guard always looking out for conflict in intake transfer and release the day is just getting under way a dozen deputies start their daily routine moving 200 bodies through these halls
• 36:30 - 37:00 guys do everybody cooperate to get through fast Terri Carson of gang classification is on his post to the front end of the system screening the new intakes trying to figure out whether they have gang affiliations and where to put them throwing these street gangs not any tattoos no tattoos nothing nothing on your back nothing the process of classification here is
• 37:00 - 37:30 never-ending it's a process designed to keep rival gangs separated and violence from breaking out despite their best efforts clashes can happen at any time clashes that escalate a staff step in to break them up out on the maximum-security wing in housing unit 4 a deputy has been caught in the crossfire while breaking up a fight between three suspected gang members the inmates are already on lockdown as
• 37:30 - 38:00 an investigation is underway and the pod is littered with the remnants of a brawl the deputy on duty is still shaken after having a chair thrown at him [Music] a search of the pot after the fight all inmates were searched and Jill made weapons were located within the pot it makes you think when you go run it in there to protect these guys if somebody's gonna stab you and I hurt you also it could be a trap you never know
• 38:00 - 38:30 in an isolation cell the inmate who threw the chair is still being questioned the deputies suspect that the fight was between rival gangs vying for power in the cell house since a deputy was involved the punishment is stiff this inmate may face new charges and more
• 38:30 - 39:00 time for assault [Music] [Music] Neen charges are something that every inmate dreads they could mean more time behind bars
• 39:00 - 39:30 former skinhead Brian Curtis is trying to steer clear of getting new charges of his own he's shipping out of Santa Rita heading back to prison leaving jail behind means returning to a world where the convict code runs even deeper as a gang drop out he'll face challenges daily but as a three-strikes candidate those challenges could have serious consequences I have too much
• 39:30 - 40:00 violence on my jacket to wear if I even slapped somebody in prison for mouthing off of me I could do life you know but you're on the drop out right now I've gotten out of it because what am I gonna do I can I look back sometimes and I think to myself man I've screwed up [Music] I screwed my kids up going through this and it's just crazy you know so
• 40:00 - 40:30 Curless is sentences 250 days 250 days to toe the line and steer clear of fights if he fails it could mean a life sentence the prison bus leaves signaling the end of another day back in the cell houses
• 40:30 - 41:00 the evening brings with it a familiar sight deputies have formed a squad and are making their way across the yard it's another shakedown another attempt to remind the inmates of who's in charge the battle for control between gang members and deputies never ends join cops patrolling the drunken States of America in a brand new look at US binge drinking next Thursday at 9:00 stay tuned for seconds from disaster