and they have to pick up the tools that we offer them. and if they can improve themselves and it s, again, a decision that they made. getting a job outside of jail is only half the battle against recidivism, which is why new programs for inmates are encouraged at l.a. county. elected sheriff lee baca and nfl hall of famer jim brown have started an intensive self-improvement training course for inmates inside the l.a. county jail. the course was originally designed to help reduce the racially motivated violence that was occurring daily within the walls of the jail. we needed to take that environment and make it a productive one where people could actually reflect on their problems, get involved in our programs, and leave this jail better than they were when they came in. the program is called amer-i-can and it s a 60-hour program that takes 42 days to complete.
still, the los angeles county jail system is enormous. it s run by more than 13,000 employees and is the largest sheriff s department in the world. it houses more than 20,000 inmates in eight different facilities, all waiting for trials, transfers, or release. let s go inside l.a. county jail s supermax facility that holds the city s most violent inmates. we ll show you how the jail detectives solve crimes committed behind bars and how violent inmates are learning to rehabilitate themselves. but first we travel 40 miles north of downtown los angeles as we continue our look behind the walls of l.a. county jail. nestled in the high desert mountains and a 40-mile bus ride north of downtown los angeles is the peter j. pitchess detention center. named after a former sheriff,
often when inmates leave l.a. county jail they encounter problems getting a job due to lack of occupational skills. without a job most inmates quickly fall back into a life of crime, which is why the vocational programs available at l.a. county jail are always filled with inmates. the inmates that work in the vocational print shop consider this to be more a job and not actually working at jail. regardless of their crime, all inmates are offered the chance to work while in jail. we don t assign them to work with anyone. we don t assign them what machines they re going to be on. we let them make all their decisions. they made decisions for their life. this is part of their life.
one of this nation s founding fathers said, if men were angels, no government would be necessary. well, i m sure that no one here would suggest that men were angels. and that s why there s government, to write the laws we live by. and correctional facilities, like this one, for the people who break them. for ten years this facility had no major incidents. then, on april 24th, 2000, violence erupted. everybody get out! it was 1:00 in the afternoon when a racially based riot broke out between 50 to 60 black and hispanic inmates. the surveillance video from this incident is still being withheld by prison officials for legal reasons. but the fighting within nccf lasted for approximately 30 to 40 minutes in one of the largest riots that l.a. county jail has
different way at how the prison population is being treated. i think it s a great opportunity. next on lockup inmates in the l.a. county jail get back their freedom. points, points, our points. there has got to be a way to redeem our hotel points. i just want to take a vacation. this seems crazy. oh really? tell us something we don t know, captain obvious. ok. with hotels.com, when you collect 10 nights you get one free. oh. so you only need to know how to count to 10 to earn a free night at places like that nudist resort. yeah i don t know how that got there. because you stayed there, took a selfie and hung it prominently on the wall. hm?