Social Structure Theory
Paper details:
Read the instructions in the Examining Theory document and select one of the following options to complete the assignment.
-1500 words-
Video links:
http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40796&loid=80064
http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39008&loid=53309
http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
Examining Theory
In this assignment, you have the opportunity to examine the theoretical principles associated with sociological perspectives of crime.
View the following Films on Demand Videos located in this week’s Required Learning Activities and select one for this week’s assignment:
• “Prostitution Along Immigration Routes”
• “Pelican Bay State Prison: War Zone”
• “Tent City, Arizona”
Select and complete one of the following assignments about the video you selected:
Option 1: Social Structure Theory Paper
Option 2: Social Process and Social Development Theory Paper
Option 1: Social Structure Theory Paper
Social structure theories view societal, financial, and social arrangements or structures as the primary cause of deviant and criminal behaviors. After choosing one
video for this assignment, address the main topic inherent in the video using a social structure theory framework. Address the key bulleted items outlined in the
directions and explain how and why the content of your video may be appropriately acknowledged and studied using a social structure theoretical application.
Select one video that supports a social structure theory.
Write a 2,100- to 2,450-word paper that addresses the following:
• How does the video you selected support a social structure theory?
• What is the primary subject or content of the video?
• What social issues are raised in the video?
• What major principles of sociological theory are addressed in the video?
• What might be some possible ramifications for social policy change?
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
Option 2: Social Process and Social Development Theory Paper
Social process theories view deviant and criminal behaviors as evolving mechanisms learned through societal interaction. Social development theories view deviant and
criminal behaviors as part of a maturational process. The process involves numerous perspectives—including biological, psychological, and social— that all occur
simultaneously as the individual progresses through life. After choosing one video for this assignment, address the main topic inherent in the video using a social
process or a social development theory framework. Address the key bulleted items outlined in the directions and explain how and why the content of your video may be
appropriately acknowledged and studied using a social process or a social developmental theoretical application.
Select one video which supports a social process and development theory.
Write a 2,100- to 2,450-word paper that addresses the following:
• How does the video you selected support a social process theory or a social development theory?
• What is the primary subject or content of your video?
• What social issues are raised in the video?
• What specific social process or social development theory may support your video (if applicable)?
• What might be some possible ramifications for social policy change?
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
The most dangerous gangs in America have transformed Pelican Bay State Prison into a battlefield. It’s a war zone, literally, a war zone. Violence is their way of
life. Whenever a stabbing had to go down, I’m the one who called it. Violence that extends beyond these walls. Many of the stabbings, even killings on the streets, are
called right from here, from Pelican Bay. Gang leaders here control organized crime on the street from inside their cells. But the prison’s fighting back. At Pelican
Bay, there’s a war under way. A war to stop the gangs by targeting their leaders. But is it a war they can win? Twice a week, buses arrive at Pelican Bay State Prison
with another load of gang members. Go ahead, step on down. Step over there, face the officer. Every prison in California has gang members. But the most violent and
hard to handle are sent here. Turn your head to the right, just your head. Pelican Bay was built to control these felons by housing them together in one facility. But
instead of stopping them, prison has become a kind of corporate headquarters for their vast criminal enterprise. For many, admission isn’t a punishment, it’s a
privilege they’ve worked hard for. Everybody that’s anybody strives to make it to Pelican Bay for that notoriety. This is where all the killers come. If you’ve made it
to Pelican Bay, you’ve made it. Once here, gang members climb the ranks through acts of loyalty and violence, constantly improving their skills. Pelican Bay is sort of
like a big university for criminals. They don’t come here to rehabilitate themselves. They come here to hone their criminal skills. And the criminals that come in,
when they leave, most of them are a lot better skilled when they leave than when they came in. Gang leaders have turned this prison into a command center. From behind
bars, they run illegal drug trade in California, control thousands of street gang members, and even order killings. In April 1999, Nuestra Familia gang leaders
executed a hit on a former gang member in San Jose, 400 miles away. After the killing, they decided the hired gun had done a sloppy job. So they had him murdered, as
well. And they did it all from inside Pelican Bay. The prison is 350 miles from San Francisco. Built in 1989, it was carved out of Redwood forests in the wilds of
northern California on purpose. Prison officials wanted to isolate gang members from the outside world. And within the prison, a fortress-like design further
segregates inmates from one another. The prison is split into two facilities, the security housing unit, where they isolate the gang leaders, and the mainline, home of
the foot soldiers. The mainline holds 2,000 prisoners in two main buildings. The buildings are divided into cell blocks, each home to 120 men. The yard is the only
place where all the prisoners congregate. Armed sharp shooters
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monitor every movement from the towers above. In 17 years, no one has ever escaped. 9:00 AM, Yard B is open. The prisoners here are made up of four ethnic gangs. They
call themselves the Blacks, the Whites, the northern Mexicans, and the southern Mexicans. Sergeant Navarro knows each of these gangs intimately. He studied their every
move for 10 years. Right here, you have the northern Mexicans. The northern Mexicans always hang out in groups of two. They do that for their own security measures.
Right now, they have two on their workout station and two on their bench. For the Blacks, you have the Crips, the Bloods, you have the 415’s, which are the Bay Area
guys here out of San Francisco. Their hanging out right here in front of us. They’re working out. Now, the southern Mexicans, they really just, kind of, hang out in
their own area over here, all the groups do. But all the groups out here, and I would say, the southern Mexicans are probably the most dangerous and well-prepared to
carry out assaults, homicides, mass violence. They are always ready in the event that something’s going to occur. You have the White boys, most of them will probably
lean towards the Nazi Low Riders, or the NLR, or the Aryan Brotherhood, the AB. One of those white boys is Joseph “Shotgun” Harmon. I have bolts under my armpit, were
gained by stabbing an African. Harmon is doing 17 years for assault with a deadly weapon. Here’s a stabbing violence predicted, biker having his throat cut by me. He’s
also a member of the Nazi Low Riders, a gang leader, who agreed to take us inside one of the most murderous organizations in the United States. We’re about killing,
getting next to you and killing you. You know, get you in the house and kill you. Two people go in that house, one goes out in a body bag. Violence is how Harmon made
his bones and got into the Nazi Low Riders. It’s how everyone gets it. I’m a blooded Nazi Low Rider. That means, for each letter I have, I stabbed somebody to get my
letters. Harmon earned his way to Pelican Bay in 2002 by stabbing an inmate in another prison. Within a few years, he became a shot caller, the man in charge in the
prison yard. When there’s something going on, you’ll hold court, you’ll go commandeer a corner of the yard and sit down with three or four of the power on the yard and
you’ll talked to them. Every single day it’s drama, drama, drama. And not drama on a soap opera, it’s life and death drama. Every single day you step out that door,
you don’t know if you walking back through it. Sergeant Navarro, and all the guards, feel the danger every time they step into yard B. You always have to be prepared
for the event that these guys are going to attack us. It’s no exaggeration. This morning there are 180 prisoners out here and just six guards. I mean it doesn’t really
matter what kind of numbers you have. If they decided right now, at this point, for ten of them to come over and attack us, you’re going to lose. I mean, there’s no
way that you’re going to try to win on those kind of numbers. We’re on the losing end of that battle. Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?
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A battle that never seems to end. In 2004 alone, there were 359 violent attacks at Pelican Bay, assaults, stabbings and slashings. But the prison is striking back.
There are 960 prison officers to control the inmates on the mainline. But Pelican Bay has also formed an elite team to target their leaders. Clint McMillan was trained
as a Navy SEAL. He’s part of the Internal Gang Investigations Unit, a team of 16 specialists leading the prison’s counter assault. Their strategy, to stop the gangs,
bust open the leader’s communication network, and get important members to leave the gang. In the process, some choose to become informants, helping McMillan’s unit to
stop further violence. Basically, taking the head off the snake. That’s what we want to do. And this is one of the men they’re targeting, a key member of one of
Pelican Bay’s most powerful gangs. His true identity can’t be revealed. If his gang discovers he’s under investigation, they’ll murder him. This gangster is a vicious
killer. Several years ago, he orchestrated a brutal murder. Now, he’s doing life without parole. If the unit can turn him into an informer, it will be a major
breakthrough in their war to infiltrate and stop his gang. But getting this hardened criminal to leave the gang is going to be a difficult battle. Pelican Bay State
Prison’s most powerful weapon in their against the gangs is the security housing unit, the Shoe. The prison removes top leaders from their gangs and segregates them
here. Inmates call this the Tomb. This morning, the guards are prepping a cell for a gang leader. We’re checking for kind of false compartment. We check for any kind
of contraband left here from the previous inmate. 99% of the inmates house in here 22 and 1/2 hours a day. They get an hour and a half for showers and exercise. And
they’re generally single-celled. Just 11 feet long, and 6 feet wide, the cell has one purpose, breaking prisoners in complete isolation and deprivation. It’s hell on
earth never knowing whether you’re going to make it or not to the next day. It’s a lonely existence being in the Shoe. Here at Pelican Bay it is. If you haven’t heard
the history of this prison, it’s the worst history of a prison in the United States, is this prison right here. The Shoe can hold up to 1,100 inmates. It’s divided
into 22 units, called pods. Each pod has six corridors. Each corridor has eight cells. The pod is controlled from here, the nerve center. No one moves without the OK
from Officer Pitscampbell. From this perch he can watch every one of the 76 doors in his unit. Prisoners can’t see beyond their bars. And they can’t move unless
Pitscampbell says so. He never opens more than one door at a time. Make a mistake, people die. We’re dealing with the most violent and assaultive inmates in the state
of California. The entire design of this is to limit their access to other inmates and to staff. So they have no opportunity to assault anybody else. But they still
do. These gang leaders will seize any opportunity for violence. They’re so ruthless and relentless they’ve even transformed the Shoe, one of the most secure places in
the prison, into one of the most dangerous. Many would attack the guards if they could get close enough. And two times a day, they do. It’s 5:00 PM, dinner time. This
is a dangerous moment, one a few times during the day when the guards are vulnerable. Inmates have used weapons to attack officers through the open food ports and the
holes in their cell doors. Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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Have to pay such close attention at this point because this is probably the most dangerous time for the officers because they have the food ports open and the inmate
is, of course, unrestrained inside the cell, which gives them free access to any weapons they may have created. This inmate shows how he makes a lethal spear for
tightly-wad paper and use elastic from his clothing to launch it. I’ve speared them, stabbed them, hit them, spit on them, climbed up on the control booth bars with
[BLEEP] throwed it all in there and the police shot me with the fire extinguisher. I did it, I’ll do it again. Some inmates in here will save up their urine and feces,
and they don’t necessarily have to dislike a particular officer, it can be just any officer, and they get an opportunity, they come to their cell, and they’ll throw it
right in their face. We’ve had so many officers gassed in that manner. It’s disgusting. But attacking officers isn’t the only way prisoners have undermined the Shoe’s
purpose. Leaders of the prison’s four main gangs, who call themselves the southern Mexicans, the northern Mexicans, the Blacks, and the Whites, have figured out how to
run their organizations from inside this concrete bunker, despite being locked down 22 and 1/2 hours a day. I was back there in the Shoe for nine years. Epitacio
Cortina was a top lieutenant, Nuestra Familia, part of the northern Mexican gang. He ran his business from inside his Shoe cell. Even though I was isolated, stuck to
myself for 22 hours a day, without any type of window to society, or what have you, I still had the means and the creativity to conduct illegal crime out there in
society. From the Shoe, Cortina controlled gang operations 400 miles away. He was in charge of a Nuestra Familia regiment that spanned an entire city. Basically, my
responsibility, at that time, was to oversee the activities of San Jose in California, whether it be murder, bank robbery, armored car robbery, drug dealing, money
laundering, you name it. Cortina also controlled illegal crime inside Pelican Bay. The inmates who did his bidding were here, on the mainline. We have the foot
soldiers out here of the larger gangs. Most of the gang leaders are all locked up in the security housing unit. These guys out here are the ones that do the business,
that sell the drugs, collect the drugs, do the assaults, do the murders, carry on their little war that they have going on. The key to Cortina’s success was
communication. This is fishing. With a little threat from their shorts, gang leaders can pass an order from one end of the Shoe to the other. The commanders send their
directives using an old fashioned method, letters. Doesn’t matter where the cell’s at. If we can fish it, we’ll get it there. And letters can be lethal. In 2001, an
FBI sting dubbed, Operation Black Widow, connected 15 murders on the outside to gang leaders in Pelican Bay. This surveillance video captures Nuestra Familia gang
members discussing their written orders sent from leaders like Epitacio Cortina. This is coming from the High Command. I’m conveying to you what the High Command wants
us to do. Many of the stabbings, even killings on the streets down in Los Angeles, are called right from here, from Print Preview
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Pelican Bay. Getting investigator, Clint McMillan, suspects that his target, a key gang member, is also using the mail to send gang orders to associates on the
outside. This guy right here, do you remember seeing that guy, his name? I don’t think he’s one of our big ones. Officers [? Dejaney ?] and Drown have been assigned to
comb through the gang members’ correspondence. Well, I know it says, Adrianna, but he’s Adrienne. They’re are also searching for drugs. Every day, 5,000 pieces of mail
wash through Pelican Bay, some carrying contraband. This particular card, it’s an Easter card, right, but what this is, this whole card right here, is soaked in
methamphetamine. And when you turn it over, you can see a little bit better, you see part of it that’s stained. Today, they’re getting so good at this that you won’t
even see the stain. Heroin is smuggled into prison in the most ingenious ways. This postcard, they’ll buy two identical postcards just like this. On one of the
postcards, they will carefully access and half the postcard and tear the back of that first postcard off. Then they’ll take heroin and they’ll put that in cellophane,
wrap that in cloth, and then they can iron that heroin till paper thin. Then they’ll put the heroin on top of the second postcard, then put the top of the first
postcard back on top of it. So you’ll have a postcard that’ll look just like this, almost paper thin, and almost undetectable. And this one appears to be clear. If
there were heroin in the dark spots of this postcard, my light would not penetrate. And then I would know that we need to carefully access this post card and get the
drugs out. This postcard’s clear. So we just continue on. Today, they don’t find any drugs, but they do intercept a coded letter. There’s a regular message there.
Doesn’t look anything out of the ordinary. The officer down here in the mail room, by further inspecting the inside of the card, what he did, he cut this open, and
right here, is what they call ghost writing. And I think you can see it there. The message here was going to a gang member in the security housing unit. And they’re
asking permission to stab an inmate on our general population. But all of their targets’ correspondence is written in code. If McMillan can decode the letters, he’ll
have evidence against the gang member and can pressure him to leave the gang and become an informant. He is a major key in their gang communications. So taking him
out, it really shuts their communication down. Getting him to flip would cripple his gang. But it’s extremely hard to convince key gang members to give up their power.
They don’t trust officers’ promises of a better life. The world of prison gangs is brutal, but it’s what these men know. This is my comfort zone. This is where I feel
most comfortable not out there, not in your front yard, not in your house in the middle of the night while I’m stealing everything you’ve got and got you tied up,
torturing you or whatever. I feel comfortable right here on this yard with wars jumping off, stabbings all around me. That’s where I feel comfortable. That’s where my
mind is the most clear and focused. Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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Joseph “Shotgun” Harmon spent six years in the Shoe as a leader of the Nazi Low Riders. Then the Gang Investigations Unit, or IGI, confronted him with evidence of his
gang-related crimes. When IGI told me, look, I’m gonna give you this one opportunity to change your life. And I’m sitting in my cell, and I’m thinking, is this what
the rest of my life’s going to be? Is it gonna end up in this box? Is this where I’m going to die? The IGI gave him a choice, leave the gang, or lose all visiting
privileges with his family and new fiance. To break somebody, they have to get to know that individual intimately and find out what his weakness is. With me, they
found my weakness was my family and my girl. They found out what my weakness was. And that’s what they used against me. Harmon chose to leave the gang. Now, he’s a
marked man. I left, but they’ll kill me if they get next to me. All of them want it, blood in, blood out. You leave in a body bag. Harmon’s new home is the
transitional housing unit, a safe haven inside Pelican Bay. More than 100 former gangsters live in the unit. McMillan plans to use the same strategy against his
target. That was successful Harmon. But convincing this loyal gang member to leave his gang will prove a much bigger challenge. Pelican Bay state prison fights to stop
gang activity on many fronts. One of the most dangerous battlefields is this piece of land, the Yard. The four rival gangs all crowd together here for rec. If a gang
member has plans for violence, this is probably where it’ll go down. It’s 11:00 AM, each gang is in its own established territory. The northern Mexicans are working
out. The Blacks are by the picnic tables, gambling. Over on the handball court, the southern Mexicans are playing a game. As long as the gangs stay separate, there is
peace. Clear the walkway. Escort from central control back to PSU. Clear the walkway. It’s time to move the prisoners back into their cells. For a few moments, all of
the rivals cluster by the yard’s exit within striking distance of each other. This is where outbreaks, large and small, occur. Gang members have even use the crowd as
cover to turn against their own. A lot of times they’ll commit assaults during this time because everyone is grouped together in one lump. So we’re going to move out
of this are as quickly as we can. And we’ll assist in the yard recall. And push these guys up to the buildings to get them where they’re supposed to be. This is when a
lot of stuff happens. It’s very difficult to try to see in the middle of these groups. And anything can happen at any given time. They’re just about to move the
prisoners back into the building when, in the blink of an eye, the yard erupts. Pull him out. Pull him over there. Pull him over there. [INAUDIBLE] battle yard Sargent
Navarro, we are code one, fist fight, Blacks. Check him real quick. Two black inmates attack one another. The flight is probably over power and status. Although it
looked spontaneous, it wasn’t. Permission for fights must be granted by leaders in the security housing unit. No gang member acts on his own. And he would be severely
punished if he did. Unfortunately, we had to use expandable batons to get him to stop fighting. And they’re seeking medical Print Preview
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attention, at this point. And recall in our yard, and hopefully we’re not going to have another problem. The inmates are cuffed and moved inside. Then a weapon is
discovered. Officer Wards recovered the weapon from this spot. We did place it– or had him place it– back on the spot just to show when he discovered it, where it
was. That’s where it was. It’s not much of a weapon, but it’s still is considered a weapon. This knife could have caused serious injury. But it’s nothing compared to
some of the weapons the prison has confiscated. Inmates manufacture weapons out of anything they can get their hands on. The prison saves a variety of homemade knives,
called shanks, as a teaching tool for new officers. This is our display. This is a perfect display of the types of weapons that we find here at Pelican Bay. While all
weapons are threat, it’s the one’s carved out of metal that scare officers. You can see by the thickness of this gauge of metal, very thick, very sturdy, extremely
dangerous. These are the ones that we love very much to find because once we find them, we know that they’re not going to be used on us, as officers, and they’re not
going to be used on inmates. But to use the weapons, inmates have to have them nearby. Many prisoners risk serious injury to conceal their knives inside their bodies.
Well, this is an example. This is an X-ray of how an inmate was able to hide the weapon in his anal cavity and actually get it out to the yard. Now, what you see there
is one half of a pair of scissors. Where you don’t see is the paper and the cellophane that is wrapped around it, so that it enables him to hide it in his anal cavity.
The flow of arms is never ending. Guards shake prisoners down each time they go out to the yard. Still, the weapons get through. Probably got people out there right
now that got weapons inside their rectum or cheek. What I mean cheek, just between their butt cheeks. Walking around so that way, if something happens, they can easily
take out that weapon and go ahead and handle their business. It’s mandatory each group have their own stock weapon out there, just in case you’ve got to go to war. In
the security housing guards regularly search the inmate’s cells for weapons. At 5:00 PM the squad prepares for a surprise raid. Make sure that you check under their
arms and their waist bands real well, because that’s where they’re beating us on the weapons when they come out. For months, the Gang Investigations Unit has been
gathering evidence against a key member of one of the prison’s most dangerous gangs. Tonight, Clint McMillan and his squad will search a block of cells looking for
evidence to connect to their target with gang crimes. This is a dangerous operation. Of one of the inmates in this block has threatened to kill officers. He wants to
kill staff, so make sure that we treat him very carefully. We are told that he always has a weapon. He always is able to hide it pretty well. The squad approaches the
inmate in force. They maneuver him out of his cell. Officers spot a knife hidden Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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in his armpit. This is a weapon that was discovered in the armpit of the gentleman outside of his cell. We believe he’s probably sharpening this piece of metal that’s
wrapped in this handle. It’s about three and a quarter inches long, three quarters of an inch wide at the widest point. It’s more a slashing weapon to stab you with.
It’s not going to go too terribly deep. If it slashed you, if you were to get cut on the throat or something like this, it would be very, very bad. The gang member
goes in to holding with other inmates from the block. Officers with their cells apart. More metal, more magnets, also we have a razor blade here. In a cell on the
bottom tier, the uncover deadly contraband, a razor blade. Then they hit pay dirt. It’s a letter written in the gang’s code. This piece of paper could provide evidence
against their target. The inmate has translated several words. This is definitely a code. They’re saying the word for building is blok, B-L-O-K. And then another word,
I don’t know if that’s [BLEEP] of some kind. And here’s a bunch of numbers with the code word beside it. Don’t lose that. That’s good stuff. We’ve just come back the
raid. We have found some of the codes. We have found also some symbols and stuff like that, artwork, and so forth, who talks with who. We’re seeing the circle of code
words, again, focusing on one individual, or just small groups of individuals. We don’t have the whole story completely yet. We’re going to break down the code and
work on it and work on it a little bit more. But as McMillan quickly discovers, that’s not so easy to do. The code is highly sophisticated. Knowing a few translated
words it’s not enough to decode entire letters. They’ll encode a letter and it’ll start, like, with it just goes to gibberish. It says, you can’t get my drowning zen
champion, you thought Jeff Xeroxed stood acclaimed, excluding Viking motives and were your long boots rendered favorable. He can’t break the code on his own. McMillan
turns to the experts, the FBI’s cryptology unit. If the FBI can help him decode the letters, they could provide the evidence he needs to get this key member to turn
against his gang. It’s 7:00 in the morning, and Pelican Bay State Prison is in crisis. A routine check of prison inventory has revealed that the blade from a barber’s
razor is missing. Everybody remember this is what we’re looking for. It’s the top of the hair clipper razor. The blade is stainless steel. Inmates could use it to cut
the metal furniture in their cells and build an arsenal of weapons. Even now, they could be mass producing knives. The staff begin an exhaustive search for the missing
clippers. The entire population of the mainline is put on lockdown. Prisoners won’t leave their cells, except for showers and emergencies. The officers have to find
the clippers before the inmates arm themselves for a riot. It’s happened before. February 23, 2000, 9:38 AM, yard B explodes. 300 southern Mexican gang members attack
the Blacks. At least 100 are armed with homemade weapons. Gunners in the building surrounding the yard open up with tear gas and rubber bullets. But nothing stops the
rampage, so they begin firing live rounds. There’s a full-scale war underway. Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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There were gunfire coming out of buildings. They were shooting from the gun tower. It was more chaotic than any riot I’ve ever seen. There were inmates running in
every different direction. Some were running away from the attackers. Some were facing attackers and trying to fight them. The riot burns out of control before the
death of a prisoner shuts it down. Right here you see a group of black inmates. They’re stabbing this guy right down here. And the gunner, he took a shot. And when he
took the shot, there his is, there’s the inmate right there. They shot him right in the head. If he hadn’t of shot that particular inmate, the victim that he was
stabbing probably would have died right there. After the most intense 30 minutes in prison history, one inmate is dead, 15 have been shot, and an astounding 89 weapons
are recovered. Now, five years after the riot, Pelican Bay once again faces a deadly threat. Officers are keenly aware that the missing clippers could create enough
weapons to fuel another war. These are steel beds, and they’ll use this lip here. Sometimes, they’ll actually cut the metal stock right out, and they’ll take soap, and
they’ll fill this in with soap, and they’ll use paint, and they’ll repaint it. And unless you really poke at these areas here, you won’t even know it’s missing.
Officers will search every one of the mainline’s 832 cells. It’s the only way to make sure that inmates and staff are safe. You don’t know what they’re planning. Maybe
they’re looking for metal stock to create weapons for an assault that’s upcoming on other inmates. Maybe they’re looking at attacking staff. Gang members are master
craftsman, when it comes to making knives. Even every day items can be turned to a lethal purpose. This is a plastic bag, right, looks real innocent. They can take
this, and it takes approximately one hour, you melt this down and they’ll have a weapon that is approximately 5 and 1/2 inches long, they hone it down on the concrete,
and they can put it inside their rectum, and they’ll go out to yard with them. They make these all day long. Here’s something that looks pretty innocent. It’s just a
washcloth, and it could be anything. But you’ll notice it’s wrapped with a string. It doesn’t take much to add some friction to the toothbrush and in just a short
period of time, turn it right into a weapon. Half an hour into this cell search, Officer Drown spots something shiny. It’s a razor blade. I’m going to see if I can
just go ahead and fish that out now. And it looks like it’s gonna cooperate and come right out. Being real careful not to cut myself, and there it is. So real threat,
right here, this razor blade, right here, can easily cut an aorta, and it can cause a lot of damage very quickly. So no clippers, but you got this. No clippers yet,
but that’s a really good find. We’re very happy when we find these and get them off the line. In the security housing unit, investigator Clint McMillan tries a new
tactic in his quest to take down his targeted gang member. He’s going to listen in on the inmate’s conversations to see if he reveals criminal plans. But the
conversations don’t take place on the phone. The gangster does his business out in the yard. Shoe inmates exercise alone to stop them from communicating with one
another. But they found an ingenious way to stay in touch. Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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The Shoe recreation yards are all connected by drain pipes. A gang member can talk into the drain and pass a message to his neighbor. Using the pipes, McMillan’s
target can pass an order from one end of the Shoe to the other, all without seeing another person. Since the yards are only monitored by camera, and not microphones,
the guards can’t stop, or even hear, the conversations. But McMillan uses his Navy SEAL training and special audio equipment to eavesdrop. He moves into position. It’s
a delicate operation. The yards are concrete and will amplify sound, so he has to be absolutely silent. The inmate moves to the drain pipe. McMillan starts recording.
They’re talking about setting something up. While I was down there he said, hey, if [BLEEP] can go ahead and set that up, we’ll go ahead and do this. So maybe there’s
something good out of this one. The gang member has passed an order. The investigator needs more information to confront him. For today, though, this is all that he’ll
get. There’s news waiting for McMillan back at the office. After weeks of work, the FBI cryptology department, at Quantico, has cracked the code. They’ve discovered
that the gang member is using a variation of the infamous Enigma code from World War II. Quantico has said that it’s the most sophisticated, and the most secure,
method encoding that they’ve seen in the nation. The FBI has supplied McMillan with a series of decoded letters to and from his target. One is especially chilling. It
orders gang members to kill cops. And in prison, cops means guards. It says, to clarify the SAC unit headquarters, priority, [BLEEP] inmates, which is Woods, wanting
to head out and they should target cops in here and on the streets, and be smooth– But the letter isn’t specific enough for McMillan to charge the inmate with a
crime, or to stop it from happening. All he can do is confront him. My next step is, what I’m going to do, is I’m going to take this information, this evidence,
basically, pull this guy out and interview him and tell him, and let him know that we have broken his whole infrastructure. We have basically uncovered what he’s
doing. If the gang member realizes the code is broken, and thinks the prison has a strong case against him, he may be willing to leave his gang and possibly become an
informant. Pelican Bay offers powerful incentives to leave the gang. Ex-gang members, called dropouts, live in comfortable housing, and have more programs, activities,
and visiting privileges than inmates in the Shoe. McMillan doesn’t think his target will take his word for it. So he asks three dropouts to make a video telling the
inmate what life is like for those willing to leave the gang. The identities of the men are hidden to protect them and their families. You’re free and clear to
basically say whatever you want to say. And if there’s anything that the law spotted or anything like that, just let me know and I can prompt you guys with something
else, OK? All right, if you guys go ahead. You don’t have to get stuck in that tomb over there. You don’t have to get stuck in that cycle. There’s no life back there.
it’s just a mere existence. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. 15 years is a long time that I spent back there. And it’s just gonna get worse in the future,
as well. We got store in the house, bags of store. We eat any time. We don’t starve no more back there. We eat ice cream, soda pops, whatever you want. You do your
little program, you get your [BLEEP] out here, and you Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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go wherever you need to go. This is where you can be your own man. Armed with their words, McMillan’s ready to confront the gangster. After months of investigation,
tomorrow he’ll make his play. Tomorrow, he’ll try to convince his target to turn on his gang. It’s 11:00 AM, and Clint McMillan has entered the security housing unit.
In a few minutes, he’ll meet his target, a key member of one of Pelican Bay’s four major gangs. OK, guys, we’re just gonna go in there, go right straight to the pod,
and then try to pull him out, try to convince him, pull him out. He hopes to convince the inmate to leave his gang. Come on down, Hi, John, McMillan. Could you come
and talk to me for a second? The first step is persuading the gangster to leave his cell. Just talking to the investigations unit could get him killed for snitching.
Basically, what it is, I want to be able to have the opportunity to talk you. What we got going is we got a lot of stuff here involving you. I want to talk to you
concerning your gang activity and stuff like that. Are you willing to come out so we get this lined out and get this straightened out? I’m willing to put it all on the
table. Sure, I don’t have no problem with that. OK McMillan’s over the first hurdle. His plan is to reveal the broken codes and make the inmate think the prison can
shut him down. This code here, it talks about targeting police officers. You ain’t never found nothing I’ve ever wrote anything like that. This is to you. What’s
written to me is different than what I’ve written. Because they say that you did message, and they’re just relaying it for you That’s [BLEEP] OK, that’s fine. Well,
whoever it is is saying they are wanting to head out, and they should target cops in here and on the streets. That’s [BLEEP]. That’s what the code said. I’m going to
tell you right now, that’s straight [BLEEP]. Whoever’s saying that, shouldn’t be saying that, period. I don’t know why the [BLEEP], excuse my language, why they put my
name in there. But they shouldn’t be saying that. That’s not what’s happening. Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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Getting nowhere, McMillan switches tactics. He pulls out the video from the gang dropouts hoping it will strike a nerve. There’s something else I want to show you, OK?
You go ahead and watch it? I don’t care. I got a future, home boy, and not that damn box we sat in back there. You come out here, you’ve got a future. It only ends one
way, home boy. You either come over here, or you die over there. There’s no other way out. It’s all about family. And that, over there, isn’t your family. You know it
in you in your heart that’s not your family. Those people are dog eat dog. The hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life was walk away. But it was the smartest thing
I’ve ever done. The gangster listens in stony silence. And then– I don’t want to hear that [BLEEP] no more. It’s gonna make a difference. These guys are not doing you
a thing. Take it out. I don’t want to hear that no more. Take it out, man. I thought you pulled me out here, you were gonna be straight with me. I am straight with
you. McMillan may not have got what he wanted, but he’s planted the seed. Sometimes it takes a little while for it to really sink in. That was interesting to see
because you see that there was a little bit of emotions involved in there. Whether he’ll make the final call, we don’t know. Yard in five minutes. Yard in five
minutes. Out on the mainline, the missing clipper head has been found. After four long weeks of cell searches, officers found the blade hidden in an undisclosed
location. Lockdown is finally over. The person who possessed the razor is known isolation, pending charges. Yet, despite the find, Pelican Bay is still on edge. The
state’s meanest prison gangs make their home here. And they’re not going to stop the violence just because the clipper’s been found. There will be more lockdowns just
because of the type of inmate that we house here. They are of the mentality, they are of violence-based type of inmate. And they’re always trying to look for ways to
either push their drugs, or to get more power on the yard, to get more territory on the yard. So in my opinion, it’s inevitable, there will be future lockdowns. Here,
pick your poison. And he takes the white. Oh, why? Old habits die hard? For Shotgun Harmon and Epitacio Cortina, that cycle of violence no longer completely rules
their lives. Now that they’re both out of the gang, they have a new perspective on their former lifestyle. I came to see that a lot of the stuff that was going on back
there was a lot of cannibalistic tactics. You had leaders that you looked up to preying upon other leaders, wanting to kill off one another for beneficial reasons,
personal reasons. Print Preview http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40792&loid=87909
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All I have to do now is satisfy myself. And as long as I don’t get violent, I’m satisfying my needs. That’s what I have to do right now, no violence. I can do whatever
else I got to do, no violence. Because if I don’t get violent, I go home. And that’s my goal, is to go home. But they can’t escape the gangs entirely. Both Harmon and
Cortina are marked men. If they leave this safe haven, their gangs will try to kill them. Me leaving the gang has put my life in jeopardy. But as well as put my
family’s life in jeopardy. And anybody that’s associated with me, their life’s in jeopardy. Clint McMillan counts Cortina and Harmon as major wins. But his target
refuses to budge. I make a difference every now and then. But being the small group that we have, it would take some serious staffing to be able to make a difference
and make any impact. And for every member who leaves the gang, another is ready to take his place. Twice a week, the buses continue to arrive at Pelican Bay with a new
load of hardened gang members. You’re always gonna have gangs. Gangs are like cockroaches. They’re going to be around till the end of the world. The cycle of violence
rolls on, a vicious series of running battles that defines life inside this prison. A war between four rival gangs and the elite unit set up to stop them. A war
between 960 prison officers and the 3,000 violent inmates they guard. A war to take charge of California’s Pelican Bay State Prison. [MUSIC PLAYING] Print Preview
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