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Prisons throughout california. >> here at san quentin i work for a unit called the investigative services unit. the inmates call us the goon squad. >> the specially trained officers assigned to these units are constantly working to intercept gang communications and to disrupt plans of violence, drug smuggling and prevent illicit activities. another one of their functions is to validate an inmate's gang affiliation. >> you need three identifiers to validate a gang member. tattoos, known association with another gang member, admission and if they are a validated gang member, they are shipped off...

Policy of controlled movement. no two cell blocks are ever in the same common areas at the same time. >> things are changing over there. this place now, it's that new mentality with get tough on crime. it's kind of working, man, because, you know, they don't mess around no more, man. they want to build more prisons. they want to keep us down. and they're doing it. >> the system of controlled movement has significantly reduced the level of violence at usp. >> it's not like, you know, people getting stabbed and murdered all the time. fights and things do happen in here. you know what i mean? but...

Then they're photographed and fingerprinted. >> starting with your right thumb, roll your fingers. >> eating. >> in an effort to avoid violent confrontations later, every inmate is evaluated and classified according to his history of violence outside and inside the penal system. >> enemies? >> none. >> gang-banger? >> share a cell with another man, no problem? >> it's all right with me. >> okay. thank you. >> don't like combative, don't like incidents. >> i wish we could make that call for you. you'll find out when you get to the house. thank you. >> flores. >> once evaluated the newcomers are...

>> incredible as it may seem, officers at san quentin say that there's an attempted assault on their lives almost every day. >> they look for vulnerable spots. they look for times when you do let your guard down. >> this is death row. in fact, this is california's only male death row where the method of execution is lethal injection. this is where you'll find such vicious killers as richard ramirez, the so-called night stalker, and richard allen davis, the killer of polly klaas. today, the condemned population has grown to a staggering 581, well beyond san quentin's ability to handle them. thi...

At its best, this is an inefficient design. officers are always having to climb stairs. >> where are the elevators? >> we're the elevators. a human elevator. >> but at its worst, the design of san quentin's cell blocks expose officers to inmate assault. >> with the age of the building, the way it's set up, almost anything you do, you're in direct contact with the inmates. >> hey how are you doing? >> when it's time for the inmates to go to the showers or the dining hall, an entire tier is released simultaneously. and astonishingly only two officers are assigned to orchestrate it. >> fifth tier...