every year, about 55,000 men and women pass through the booking department of the hamilton county justice center in cincinnati. >> can i get my panties, please? >> most will be released within hours. but for those who stay, the jail will become their home for an indefinite period of time. the job of keeping it clean falls to inmate workers, known here as porters, like thomas schiele. >> our day starts with empty trash cans, taking care of the walls, cells as they empty, and then on to the holding tanks. >> in jail, i am somebody. in here, i feel needed, i guess. i have a purpose.