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Today, it's two pancakes and grits. inmates also get a bagged lunch with the meal. at one time, it took only one officer to serve an inmate a meal. he wore very little protection. today, since attacks are commonplace and vicious, it takes three officers wearing full riot gear. >> when we feed breakfast, we have all the food in serving containers. and we put it on the trays, serve it to the inmate. >> anytime that you pop open the food port, you're vulnerable. that inmate has -- there's an opening for that inmate to assault you. officers des moines brittenum and kevin walker, have worked in dea...

Dangerous areas in the institution. there's that presence of a clear and present danger as soon as you step on the tier. and it doesn't go away. >> officer tony jones has worked these tiers for 14 years and he knows what inmates here are capable of. >> they don't work and play well with others. they're the bad guys here at san quentin. >> a modern prison would have solid doors to protect officers during feeding. but here, the cell fronts are open, allowing inmates the opportunity to assault officers in, perhaps, the most unsavory way possible. >> the absolute worst thing that could happen to y...

They're one group, and they all stick together. then the border brothers run this area over by the laundry that has the volleyball court. border brothers being anybody that was born south of the border. they usually are the ones getting the advantage taken of them because they're not organized at all. they've taken that little area there because nobody else wants it because it has an open bathroom. it stinks. it smells. the white guys are over here on the parallel bars and on the picnic table. the white guys are pretty relaxed even though in reality everybody's always looking. >> looking out f...

That means it's already been noted. so, it's not new and hasn't been fixed yet. so, like that one down there doesn't have red paint, that's one we just found out about. >> with some inmates in their cells for up to 20 hours a day, they've got nothing but time in which to think up the most ingenious ways to use whatever is at happened to make the most deadly of weapons. >> the inmates manufacture weapons from something as simple as cellophane wrappers. they'll heat it, melt it, take socks, roll it together, get it so it's forming. they'll dip it in cold water. they'll heat it again. they'll dip...

Years. they say they can never be too careful in there. >> an inmate may try to grab your arm, pull it into the cell so he can break it or stab it or, you know, cut it, slash it. >> there's been an instance where a spear was shot out at an officer when the food port was open. he opened the food port, turned and grabbed milk and breakfast items. and when he turned back around the inmate had some elastics set up to shoot out an arrow. >> he wasn't wearing these. but he was wearing a visor. so, we switched to these helmets because the face shield is thicker and harder. >> in spite of the riot gea...