Osj Unit News Today

>> sergeant roger ross is in charge of the osj unit that monitors all gang activity within the l.a. county jail system. >> los angeles county jail is unique in the fact that every gang in los angeles county ends up coming here. it doesnt matter if theyre a black gang, an asian gang, a hispanic gang, or a white gang. if theyre active in los angeles county and they get arrested, they end up coming to the los angeles county jail system. >> the osj unit must rely on communication to help prevent gan...

>> its been a history of whoever stepped on our toes. >> knowing which gangs are fighting each other helps the osj unit decide who to remove from general population and where to search for weapons. >> we have found them with hacksaw blades, anything that -- a metal rod. in our ovens you have the grills that you put in the oven to cook on. theyll break off the rods on that. heres a shampoo bottle that was just once a plastic bottle, theyve melted down and converted that into a weapon. >> getting ...

To a point also to one end and use them as a -- either a stabbing device or what have you. >> unfortunately for the inmates, the osj unit cant prevent all acts of violence inside the jail. sometimes they get there too late. >> and weve had similar situations where we found the inmate after the whole thing was over and he was dead. heres a photo of an individual that wasnt so fortunate as to be saved in time. >> for inmates who do commit murders and assaults, there is the high power floor. high p...

Within the l.a. county jail system. >> los angeles county jail is unique in the fact that every gang in los angeles county ends up coming here. it doesnt matter if theyre a black gang, an asian gang, a hispanic gang, or a white gang. if theyre active in los angeles county and they get arrested, they end up coming to the los angeles county jail system. >> the osj unit must rely on communication to help prevent gang violence. >> solving crime is all about getting the information from somebody. its...

>> knowing which gangs are fighting each other helps the osj unit decide who to remove from general population and where to search for weapons. >> we have found them with hacksaw blades, anything that -- a metal rod. in our ovens you have the grills that you put in the oven to cook on. theyll break off the rods on that. heres a shampoo bottle that was just once a plastic bottle, theyve melted down and converted that into a weapon. >> getting caught with a jailhouse weapon is a serious offense. w...

It doesnt matter if theyre a black gang, an asian gang, a hispanic gang, or a white gang. if theyre active in los angeles county and they get arrested, they end up coming to the los angeles county jail system. >> the osj unit must rely on communication to help prevent gang violence. >> solving crime is all about getting the information from somebody. its not physical evidence. >> we aint with nobody. its just mainly a money thing. mainly we just doing our thing. everybodys doing their individual...

It doesnt matter if theyre a black gang, an asian gang, a hispanic gang, or a white gang. if theyre active in los angeles county and they get arrested, they end up coming to the los angeles county jail system. >> the osj unit must rely on communication to help prevent gang violence. >> solving crime is all about getting the information from somebody. its not physical evidence. >> we aint with nobody. its just mainly a money thing. mainly we just doing our thing. everybodys doing their individual...

Jail, or osj, was formed. >> we try to identify who the gang members are that are in the system, and then we kind of try to make a guess at what level in the gang they are. if theyre somebody whos very active, well try to isolate them from general population. >> sergeant roger ross is in charge of the osj unit that monitors all gang activity within the l.a. county jail system. >> los angeles county jail is unique in the fact that every gang in los angeles county ends up coming here. it doesnt ma...

Hacksaw blades, anything that -- a metal rod. in our ovens you have the grills that you put in the oven to cook on. theyll break off the rods on that. heres a shampoo bottle that was just once a plastic bottle, theyve melted down and converted that into a weapon. >> getting caught with a jailhouse weapon is a serious offense. which is why gang members take extreme measures to hide them. >> what we have here is the first one looks like a wire shank. basically, theyve recovered that off a vent. th...

Mainly we just doing our thing. everybodys doing their individual thing. >> you have had a history of feuding with who? blacks or hispanics? throughout the years over there. >> its been a history of whoever stepped on our toes. >> knowing which gangs are fighting each other helps the osj unit decide who to remove from general population and where to search for weapons. >> we have found them with hacksaw blades, anything that -- a metal rod. in our ovens you have the grills that you put in the ov...