Reggie Yates in a Texan Jail The Insider

This programme contains some strong language and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

You have the right to remain silent.

You have the right to have a lawyer present to advise you

before and during any questioning...

They say, to understand a person,

you have to walk a mile in their shoes.

That's exactly what I'm going to do.

I'm going to jail

to try and understand the American criminal justice system

from the inside.

America incarcerates more people

than any other country in the world

and the largest population of inmates

are housed in Texas.

At quite a young age I promised myself

that I'd never find myself in this position -

in the back of a police car.

I never thought I'd know what it feels like to be here right now,

but...I'm experiencing this, even though it's under these conditions.

I know I've not done anything wrong,

I know I'm not getting a criminal record for doing this,

but there is an element of shame, if I'm totally honest.

I don't like, sort of, feeling like this.

I don't like being in this position.

-HE RAPS

-Whoa, whoa!

For one week I'll be locked inside Bexar County,

one of the biggest jails in the state.

INMATES SHOUT

I'll be experiencing life as an inmate

to try and find out the real impact of being behind bars.

So this is actually happening now.

I'm about to head into these shutters

and I guess, once that shutter closes, that's it, I'm in.

POLICE RADIO CHATTER

Any kind of jewellery, any personal items, effects, anything like that?

-Just a ring.

-Just that right there? What I'm going to do,

I'm going to take this hand out of your handcuffs,

you're going to put it on the platform.

-You got any inside pockets inside your jacket?

-Yeah.

And that ring, is that ring able to come off you?

Yes, it is.

Bring it up higher.

Bring it up higher.

Open your mouth up, tongue up.

Lift the tongue up. Yes, sir.

Thank you. Go ahead, close your mouth.

Every day around a hundred people enter this jail

and a hundred people leave,

with a total population reaching nearly 4,500 inmates.

So what's the reason for removing my jewellery and my shoelaces?

Well, the shoelaces, down here, number one, it's for your safety

and for the safety of others.

After being arrested, inmates are first placed in jail

to await trial or serve short sentences.

Stays here usually last under a year.

-Do you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse?

-No.

-Are you expecting to withdraw from drugs or alcohol today?

-No.

-Do you currently believe that someone can control your mind?

-No.

Prior to arrest, did you feel depressed,

down or take little interest in things?

Are you thinking of killing yourself or injuring yourself today?

Thank you, sir. Come and stand right here.

You feel suicidal at all?

Don't feel suicidal, no.

Have you been seen by any kind of mental health, or...

-No.

-..put into a mental institution for any reason?

No.

Follow me.

Are you wearing briefs or boxers, sir?

-Boxers.

-Pardon me?

-Boxers.

-And what colour are they?

-Black.

Careful that doesn't spill out.

Thank you.

I sort of feel like anything that made me me is gone.

I'm a... I'm a prisoner now.

I'm wearing a pair of socks

that have been through the system quite a few times!

Even down to my underwear, you know, it's all county jail.

There's nothing about me, right now.

Um, that's come from me.

Follow you out?

There are 75 units in this jail,

some of which provide additional support for inmates'

physical and mental health needs.

Drop your bag, sir.

I'm relieved to be taken to the unit known as AA, for low risk inmates.

-So it's two tiers in here?

-Yes, sir.

The shower area and bathrooms there,

your cell is going to be the first one, AA01, right there.

This is Officer Torres, he's going to be the officer for the shift.

This is inmate Yates.

-This is Officer Torres.

-All right, nice to meet you.

And, of course, you have your lights.

-You turn them on and off here, on the side.

-Mm-hm.

-This is to flush the toilet.

-Mm-hm.

Well, I won't be the first person in an orange jumpsuit who sat on this.

I've got a nice orange stain on my mattress.

WHIR AND CLANK

I think that's the sound of me getting properly locked in.

I was hoping for a window -

the only window I've got looks out onto the communal area out there.

I guess I won't be seeing sunlight while I'm in here.

Again, something that I didn't really consider.

At least I know Slayer's been here.

KNOCKING

Oh, shit!

What does that mean? Do I bang back?

LAUGHTER

They're laughing at me. I don't know what that means!

Does that mean, "Yes, I will be your girlfriend"?

What does that mean?!

(What does that mean?)

Oh, where the fuck am I?

Within a 24-hour period,

inmates in this unit are locked away for around 12 hours.

For the rest of the time,

they are sent to work in other parts of the jail

or allowed a short stint in the communal area.

Everyone's been let out of their cells at the moment,

but I'm still in here behind mine,

which I don't know how good I think that is.

INMATES CHATTER

'You ready to come out?'

Yes, sir.

-What's up? How you doing?

-What's up?

-What's going on?

What's up, what's up?

-What's up? My name is Reg.

-Jesus, man.

You all right? What's going on? Reggie, nice to meet you, brother.

-E.

-Nice to meet you, E.

-What's up, bro?

-Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

So you lot are getting a couple of hours out here, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Is this time that you lot treasure?

Is this time that you look forward to?

It's the only time we've got.

'I'm keen to meet as many inmates as possible

'and try and get some advice on how to cope while I'm inside.'

What's happening? Reggie, nice to meet you.

-Mosley.

-What's that?

-Mosley.

-Reggie.

Just keep your mind occupied, you know what I mean?

Like, you got to read books.

Just take your mind off the things that aren't really happening.

-You know?

-And what happens if you don't do that?

Some... Some people, some people, they'll trip out.

They snap, you know?

They start to freak out because,

if you start thinking about the worst possible things

that could happen to you...

-Your mind will go crazy, you know?

-Yeah.

You're all so young.

-I didn't think you guys would be... How old are you, sir?

-22.

-22.

-What did you do?

-Shoplifting.

-Shoplifting?

-Yeah.

-What were you trying to steal?

-T-shirts.

-And you ended up in here because of T-shirts?

-Yeah.

-So what was going through your head

-when they put them handcuffs on?

-I was like, "Oh, man."

I was so mad, I was like,

-I wish I would have just never did it.

-Over some T-shirts.

-Right.

What do you think your sentence is going to be?

A month or two, but no longer than that.

You know, cos it's a misdemeanour, you know?

It was just tagging on a projector in school -

that's all it was.

-I took a pin and I edged it in there.

-No, you're kidding me.

Yeah, and the students saw me and they stitched me out.

Oh, you, guy, I'm going to get you later.

-You ended up in here for that?

-Yeah.

'It's surprising to hear that crimes we might regard to be minor

'in the UK are punished by a jail sentence in Texas.'

It's dinner time in the unit

and I'm about to have my first taste of jail food.

Oh, you've got it all figured out.

Oh, I see. You made a hamburger.

-Oh, man. It's just...

-It's horrible, I know.

It's terrible, bro.

-It tastes like nothing.

-It tastes like nothing, right?

-Yeah, no seasoning.

-They don't put no salt, no pepper.

You got to mix it together.

After dinner, I notice there's a new arrival in the unit.

That guy's got a bag,

-that means he's just coming in for the first time, right?

-Yes.

This is 19-year-old Alex's first time in jail.

You've got a window in here, you got more than I got.

See, I didn't even know it was dark out.

-Yeah.

-Do you know what time it is?

-No, Reggie, I don't, man.

-No idea.

-I don't.

-This is my first night in here.

-It's your first night, right?

-It's my first night as well.

How are you...? How are you coping?

Like, I'm fucking... I'm shaking right now, man.

I'm just keeping myself occupied, I'm fixing everything I can.

-I'm just....

-What is it that's making you shake?

-Is it...

-I haven't...

-..anxiety?

Fear? Is it what?

It's anxiety, man.

I have so much in my head that I'm not supposed to be here.

I'm supposed to be at work right now, you know?

Taking care of my sister and my mom and my stepdad in Mexico.

And he's on dialysis right now, you see?

I'd send them 200 a week and look where I'm at right now, you know?

I lost the job, I lost my car,

I'm homeless and I don't know what's going to happen to my stepfather.

'Alex has been arrested

'for possession of a small amount of marijuana,

'which I find out he was using to combat his mental health issues.'

I was... I got diagnosed when I was 13 years old.

Diagnosed as what?

Bipolar, ADHD and I was having very suicidal thoughts at the time,

where I was hearing things

and I couldn't cope with those hearings.

I was very, very...out of there, man.

I started taking the pills and those pills would calm my hearings down,

but my anxiety would pop up, man, and my depression would just pop up,

and I used marijuana. And that's when I got out of that facility,

and then I went back again because I started cutting myself.

And then I went back again because I tried to overdose,

and then I went back again because I tried to hang myself.

Did you mention that on the way into this unit?

Because they ask you all those questions.

-Of course not. I'm not going to say yes to those questions.

-Why?

Because, if I say yes, that I have attempted suicide,

it would just lead me to somewhere very...

not even a very nice place. I'm very lucky to come to this unit.

In this unit, everybody is doing their...

They don't want to fight here.

They just want to do their time and go home to see their family.

If I told them I attempted suicide, they would have put me on some unit

where there's more people, which would give me more anxiety attacks,

more problems, more suicidal thoughts, you know?

HE SOBS

It's your first night. You ain't going to be here that long, bro.

I miss my mom, man.

I miss everybody, man.

Look, this is my first time in here.

And in the little experience,

the little knowledge I have of this place,

you can't be like this on the first night.

You need to pull yourself together, man.

I don't even want to be here, man.

It's driving me nuts.

I hate this place.

Look at the beds, bro. How does it...?

Come on, Alex, it's the first night. It's my first night.

You've just got to... You've got to get your head straight, man.

-All right?

-All right.

When you're done here talking to me, you gotta promise me

you're going to go and talk to a guard

because you need to speak to someone.

You need someone to talk to,

you need someone to be there for you, man.

You've got me now. You know that much, right?

Right?

OK.

-I will do that, man.

-All right.

But before you go out there,

just take ten minutes and get your shit together, bro.

-You need to, OK?

-OK.

-Just stay calm.

-All right?

-All right.

-You got this, man. I'm about if you need me.

-I'm in number one, all right?

-All right, man.

-Yeah.

-OK?

All right?

The majority of the people I've spoken to have called this

one of the calmest wings that they've ever been in.

They call this one of the safest bits of the prison,

which is strange to hear

because the minute you start to unpick some of their problems,

very quickly you see them teetering on the edge, you know.

Already there's been guys in tears,

there's been guys shaking in front of me.

There's been people telling me their story,

not being able to hold eye contact or...

You know...or maintain a level of conversation

where it doesn't feel like they're about to spiral downwards.

And this is the place where the most together guys are.

After our conversation, Alex asked to see a counsellor

to tell them about his suicidal thoughts.

What's happened with Alex? Is he still here?

No, sir. Actually, he said he was having thoughts of suicide

or self harm,

so we're having him talk to mental health counsellors right now.

OK. So where do you think that'll lead?

Is he going to come back here or will he go to another...?

It's actually up to our mental health counsellors.

-They'll assess him?

-They'll assess him.

If they feel that he is in danger of self-harm,

he will be placed in a suicide protection cell or unit.

-All right, thank you.

-Thank you, sir.

I'm impressed with how quickly the jail has dealt with Alex

and it's a relief to know he might now get the support he needs.

I guess that's all the darkness I'm going to get.

One of the strangest days ever.

I'm lying here, in this bunk,

under possibly the scratchiest sheet that's ever been produced.

HE CHUCKLES

I'm not feeling sorry for myself.

The thing that I can't stop thinking about is Alex.

You know, he's a good guy and he isn't here this evening.

He's been moved to a different ward

because of his... his suicidal thoughts.

I don't know where he's going to end up, eventually.

I just hope he's all right, you know?

HE YAWNS

I struggled to get to sleep

because the light off isn't really light off.

It's... It's this.

The doors buzz and the tannoys come over saying it's breakfast,

but it doesn't feel like it's been six or seven hours -

it definitely hasn't been that long.

Let's get some breakfast.

How comes breakfast is so early? Why is it so early?

Has everybody come out, or are some people still fast asleep?

So they eat and then go straight back up?

What have we got? What is this?

-Yeah.

-Bread, honey...

-What's that?

-..sausage.

That's a piece of sausage and that's beans.

I'm struggling to swallow this, man.

This is one of the best plates to have.

This is one of the best plates?

Mm-hm.

Wow.

I can't.

I had, like, two bites of this and I feel kind of sick, if I'm honest.

It's funny, after that breakfast, and after this wake up,

I've come back to my bed and all I'm thinking about

is - how much longer am I going to be here for?

Because you're very quickly reminded

how little control you have, you know.

To be woken up at this time for breakfast

makes absolutely no sense, but, in this system, is kind of does.

We are on the first or the second floor, I think.

We are being woken up at one/two in the morning to eat

and that's because every floor needs to get fed.

So by the time you get to the sixth or seventh floor,

it's probably 7am.

And if I knew that I was going to be here for at least six months,

and this was going to be the case every single night,

all I'd be thinking about right now is home.

I'm here for a matter of days and all I'm thinking about is home!

They've given me my...toothbrush and toothpaste in a glove.

HE CHUCKLES

Even on a plane you get more of a toothbrush than that.

This is shit.

This is so rubbish!

This is shit! How are you supposed to get to anything with this?

I ain't getting in the fucking shower.

No way am I getting in the shower.

No, sir.

I mean, this is supposed to be a cool, calm...pod,

but, even with that being the case, mm-mm.

I'll be the smelly inmate...with minty fresh breath.

After meeting Alex, I'm keen to hear if there are inmates

in the other units suffering from mental health issues.

Once I'm let out of my cell,

I'm escorted to the wing for more serious crimes,

including murder.

Where we are headed to now, what is it?

What's it going to actually be like?

It's going to be set up sort of like where we just were...

-Mm-hm.

-..but it's high-risk.

What sort of crimes would they have committed?

Like big possession felonies, big drug cases...murders.

So, in terms of atmosphere,

is it going to be similar to where I've been?

It's probably going to be a little...a little louder.

THEY JEER

-You sure I'm going to be all right?

-You're going to be good.

THEY SHOUT

We're not going to go in there.

To say things are different is an understatement.

-The mood is real different in here, right?

-Yes.

What's up? What's up?

You all right?

-How you doing, man?

-What up, what up, what up, G?

-Eh, eh, eh!

-Whoa, whoa!

-Talk to me. You got to talk to me.

You know what it is?

-Hey, you know what I'm saying?

-Hold up, time out!

-HE RAPS

-Whoa, whoa!

Shhhh!

Without saying who,

what sort of cases are the majority of people in here?

In here?

Yeah, right here.

Drinking and drugs, and being stupid.

This particular jail?

Yeah.

I want to know what help is given to the inmates on this wing

who are dealing with mental health issues.

I commend you, I appreciate what you're doing.

-I, myself, I'm schizophrenic. I'm a mental health patient.

-Oh!

So, are you receiving medication for that?

-Absolutely, yes.

-And are you getting counselling as well?

Absolutely.

How do you...? What do you use to self-medicate?

-What do you self-medicate with?

-Everything.

Everything from pharmaceuticals to methamphetamine and heroin,

-depending on...

-What you can get your hands on.

Trying everything, you know what I mean?

It's reassuring to hear that some of the inmates

suffering from mental illness are receiving support within the jail.

Right, thank you very much, guys.

Shut up time! Shut up time!

CLAMOUR OF VOICES

Returning to the AA unit for lunch,

I'm surprised to see Alex emerge from his cell.

Yo, what's up, Alex?

-Where you sitting, man?

-I'm going to sit over there.

Yeah?

Let's have a talk.

So where did you go?

Cos I know you went and spoke to the guards about looking at maybe...

After we talked, I went and I asked the guard if I can see a therapist,

or counsellor or psychiatrist.

The guards told me, "If I send you there,

"most likely you are having suicidal thoughts."

And when you have suicidal thoughts here, I didn't know that,

they strip you naked and put you in a cell by yourself.

I was like, "That's worse."

So I told them, "No, I'm fine."

But that lady, I was telling her my problems, what I told you,

and then she told me just to man up, "Buck up and do your time,

"and there's not much we can do cos you're already here.

"I know it's tough and I know you miss your mom."

And I was crying, man. I was crying.

I miss my mom, you know?

But the fact is...is that... there's no help here, you know?

There's no help here.

I couldn't sleep.

I had the lights on for a while

and then I saw you turn off your lights,

and I was like, "If he can sleep, I'm going to go to sleep."

You could see my cell?

-Yeah.

-You can see my cell window?

-Mm-hm.

-We both had our first night last night.

I saw you turn off your lights and I'm like,

"I'm going to turn off my lights, then."

So I turned off my lights and I counted 100 backwards

and I fell asleep.

It is concerning to hear about Alex's experience

on the psychiatric wing.

No, I'm going to try and check it out.

I want to go and see it. What's it like down there?

It's a sad, sad sight.

You really... It's a lot of mental,

really mentally unstable people down there,

like, literally, mentally unstable.

They've never had a mental stability in their head to tell them,

you know, "What you're doing is wrong,"

or, "What you're doing is right,"

or, "What you're doing may not get you to where you want to be."

Later that evening, I'm invited to the daily prayer group.

We are starting right now.

I just want to thank you for giving me another day, Lord,

that I'm not outside and trying to hustle up some money

or get some drugs or panhandling, or anything like that.

He got me in here for a reason, to stay out of trouble

and learn my lesson.

I thank God because there's always a new day and a new blessing,

and a new way of learning, so I just hope everybody take that and learn.

I want to tell God, if he can take care of my stepfather,

that would be a bigger blessing for him.

He's on dialysis in Mexico.

If he can just get him through until I get out -

that's all I ask for.

We can't get out of here without truth, without your love...

'I'm not exactly the most religious person,

'but there's something about watching people worship,

'being involved in prayer, that just makes you feel good.

'It seems as though everybody here has their own coping mechanism.

'Some people play cards, some people talk in the day,

'but for that group of gentlemen, it was...well, it is prayer.'

Amen.

And up, let's come down!

Whoo!

Being in that circle, I felt a sense of security.

Like I said, I'm not religious,

but if I were here a few months, maybe a year,

I can imagine that becoming part of my...part of my existence in here,

which explains why Alex has jumped straight on that.

I think he's probably going to find a lot of comfort

in prayer group, in the Bible.

As the day draws to a close, the inmates prepare to be locked down

in their cells for another night.

It's definitely time to take a shower, I think.

I caught a whiff of myself.

That's always a sign, when you can smell yourself.

One of the things I'm least looking forward to,

but I need to do it. I've got no choice, really.

It's finally that time.

SHOWER RUNS

Truth be told, I always promised myself

that I would never be in prison, ever.

And to be here, and to be complicit in the fact that I am still here,

is something that... doesn't really rub for me.

You know, it's weird.

I am the reason that I'm here

and I can change it at any moment.

Nobody is keeping me here, but I want to be here now.

I think I need to be here...

out of respect to the fact that these guys are telling me

their deepest and darkest...

So, night two.

I'm about to get my head down again

after having some noodles for din-dins.

And then it's another night in here.

I think I might...might skip that 2am breakfast today, though.

I think I might do that.

Today I'm joining Michael,

one of the inmates from my unit,

who has been given a job on the psychiatric wing.

-Where to?

-One.

One and four.

This is one of the only jails in America

with a facility dedicated to mental health.

This is what you've got to wear. This is the uniform.

-In there?

-Yeah.

I have no idea what I'm walking into right now.

There's boots in here. Why would you need boots?

A lot of times the guys will flood their floors

and we've got to clean them all up, and stuff like that a lot times,

and we have to do that.

So, we put boots on so you don't get all the stuff all over you.

Faeces, you know,

urine...

stuff like that. Sometimes it's nasty, it really is.

So how often and how regular is it that there's...?

It's on a daily...

It's a daily basis, sometimes.

BANGING ON DOOR

This guy's made a bit of a mess in here.

-He does this a lot, stuff like that.

-Yeah.

'There are 52 beds for mentally ill inmates, all in constant use,

'and in this unit they are confined for 23 hours a day.'

The first time you came down here, what was you thinking?

Because this couldn't be more different to the pod we stay in.

Oh, it's totally different, yeah. When I first came down here,

I didn't know what to think about all this and it...

It took a little bit of getting used to.

No, go ahead and put it under the door.

All right...

All right, I'll get it, just a minute.

OK.

Get all of it up under the door.

Jail staff supervise the cells and a separate medical team

handle the inmates' mental health treatment.

Apparently, the inmates are all incredibly unpredictable,

so, during clean-up, they get taken out of their cells

and we're sort of left to work... work the mess, as it were.

-Nigger!

-So...

-We'll see what happens.

-Nigger! Nigger!

It sounds like this guy, over here,

isn't the biggest fan of me chatting away on camera.

-Nigger!

-Yeah, he thinks I'm talking about him

and he's given me a name, which...

Fucking nigger!

Erm... I've got a feeling this is going to be...

this is going to be repeated the entire time that I'm here,

so I'm going to try and get used to that.

I've got an 18-inch dick.

-Oh!

-18-inch love, baby.

Oh, man. HE CACKLES

Wow.

I've got an 18-inch fucking dick.

Er...

INMATE DRUMS ON DOOR

Whoo!

I think, if Alex were to come in here,

it wouldn't take long for him to feel incredibly intimidated

and not really be able to handle it.

I mean, the state that he was in on that first night,

if he did come in here,

I mean, this is far worse. This is infinitely worse.

He's writing on his window.

It's not long before the inmate escalates his behaviour

from shouting to a dirty protest.

-INMATE SHOUTS

-Why?

I've not been told what sort of a mess he's made,

-but I can smell it.

-What is that?

They're going to handcuff him first.

It looks like he already knows the protocol.

Start moving everything to the other side

so we can do the other one.

All right - each towel, sheet.

Teamwork, teamwork!

Due to the sensitive nature of the cases here,

Bexar County have requested we don't speak with the inmates

or medical team on this wing,

but I can talk to the sheriffs.

I mean, I've seen some awful stuff in that unit alone.

-Like what?

-A guy dug out his eye.

-Mental.

-A guy what?

-Dug out his eye.

Dug it out.

What? Why? What was wrong with the guy?

-He's a self-mutilator.

-And the other one...

Oh, yeah, the other one who pulled his...

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

Yeah. He pulled one of his...

Pulled his testicles off.

He pulled his own testicles off?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-One of them.

-No, he pulled them both off.

-OK.

-Yeah. He pulled them both off.

So, for somebody who does something like that here,

I mean, what kind of treatment do they receive?

I don't know what kind of help they get -

I know they get a lot of help now.

-They're real big on the mental health here, which is good.

-Yeah.

Do you think you are more empathetic

to the people who are in mental health department of the unit?

No, not really. No.

Why not?

-I mean...

-Are they all just criminals to you?

No, they're not, they're not criminals.

I mean, they are trying to get help,

but, I mean, you start feeling sorry for these guys in here,

you start feeling sorry for everyone who comes in here,

and you can't do that.

You've just got to know, "OK, this is the line."

I don't want to go this way. I don't want to...

-"Let me hold you," you know?

-You give them what the law requires,

you give them the rights that they have,

and that's where it stops.

That's our job, is to protect them from each other,

protect each other and keep the county safe.

-Protect and serve.

-Yeah.

-OK, thank you.

-Mm-hm.

-Thank you very much.

-Have a good day.

I want to know if what Alex heard about the suicide unit is true,

so I'm going to see for myself.

Normally, individuals with more serious mental illnesses

are placed in hospitals rather than the jail,

but with psychiatric beds in short supply,

that's not possible for every case.

Oh...

-Hey, officer, how you doing?

-All right.

So this is the suicide watch unit?

This is the suicide unit.

So what's different about this unit to the usual...?

And the smock is the green, sort of, sheet, right?

The green, yeah, that's about it.

They're naked under the smocks?

It is distressing to see how ill some of the inmates are

in this unit, but what's more worrying

is the responsibility for providing care for them

is in the hands of a local jail.

I want to speak to one of the senior officers

about how Bexar County balances its role

between being an ordinary jail and a psychiatric facility.

Hey, officer. How you doing?

-All right, how you doing?

-Good to see you again.

-I'm OK, I'm OK.

-How did you sleep, all right?

I'm still unsure where I'm allowed to stand.

You're good. Over here is good. You're all right.

-Black and yellow lines have got me super paranoid.

-Black and yellow.

-You're good.

-I've been on clean-up duty today.

-How did you like that?

-Not massively.

There was a dirty protest earlier, we had to clean that up,

-that wasn't fun.

-No.

But the psych ward, I mean, it's packed.

Every cell is full.

-Yeah.

-There weren't just doctors, there were also officers, as well.

-Right.

-I mean, who takes control of that unit?

Is there more doctors than officers there?

-What's the balance?

-Security and safety is always number one.

Doctors, of course, doctors and nurses, you know,

we don't overrule their medical advice.

If somebody needs help, of course,

we try to make sure they get the help

that the doctors and nurses can step in and help them -

but, first and foremost, it's always security.

If there's something that's going to put them in an unsafe situation,

we will step in to make sure that doesn't happen.

Some of those guys over there really do need help,

you actually get some of the guys over there that won't eat,

they just stare at you. They won't blink.

They'll just, just start talking to themselves.

They'll start talking to other people, start yelling.

I mean, anything and everything that you can think of -

I mean, it's not a movie. It's real life.

It actually happens.

-So, for some of these more extreme cases...

-Mm-hm.

..you know, the guys who are doing the dirty protests,

the guys who are in a cell with nothing in it

wrapped in a green sheet,

what kind of treatment are they getting beyond medication,

-beyond the pills?

-They do get to actually see the psychiatrist,

so they do get that personal help,

whether or not they've got it on the outside, they do get it in here.

They do get to talk to somebody.

-There is regular counselling?

-They do get regular counselling,

so they do get that. If they move on, beyond that,

whether they get it or not and follow up with their treatment

when they get out of here, that's something else to be said.

But while they are here, they do get that part of it.

And what determines when they get out?

Them serving time for their crime

or the mental health professional saying,

"OK, you are now stable"?

-What's the decision?

-Their crime. Their crime.

When their time is up for their crime, that's when it's up.

So, in your personal opinion, then,

do you think they should be getting their treatment here,

or in a medical facility?

A medical facility.

I think they do need to get their treatment in a medical facility.

This environment is not going to get them help they need.

I think it's a quick fix.

We keep getting the same people back here, over and over and over again.

I mean, there's people here,

they come in here at least once a month for criminal trespassing,

people who shouldn't be here.

You know they are crazy, they can't even say what the name is,

but yet we find them over here because they were somewhere drinking

or they didn't get their medication.

We find them right back and everyone can tell you their names.

We know some of the same people over and over and over again.

Right...yeah.

Bexar County are doing their best,

but with inmates often finishing sentences

regardless of their psychiatric progress,

and many not getting the necessary help on the outside,

it's no wonder so many come back again and again.

When I get back to the AA unit, Alex is struggling to cope.

What's on your mind, man?

-I want to go home, yeah.

-Yeah?

Alex, hold it together, man.

Hold it together, brother, all right?

So what is it that's making you so worried?

What's on your mind?

-I feel like I've been here for a long time.

-Yeah.

Is it just not having enough to pass the time?

Is that what's getting to you?

-Yeah.

-Have you thought about trying to get a job?

They were supposed to give me one.

I was working in medical with Michael,

you know, one of the older guys.

So we were cleaning medical, but there was a dirty protest.

Do you know what one of those things are?

You know what a dirty protest is?

It's when someone makes a protest using their own faeces...

-Ew!

-..in their cells.

-Oh, no.

-You had to clean it?

-And we had to go and clean it up, yeah.

Oh, Reggie, that's tough! I thought I had it tough.

Yeah, you're sitting here in your cell, chilling, reading your Bible,

and I got it tough.

-I was cleaning...

-Shit!

-..shit today.

Oh, man.

So while you think you're having a tough time reading your Bible...

-I'm sorry, man!

-..sitting on your own,

I'm there trying my hardest

not to get doo-doo under my fingernails, bro.

Someone else's doo-doo.

-You don't get gloves?

-Yeah, I got gloves.

-I'm just trying to make it sound worse than it was.

-Oh!

The longer I spend in this jail,

the clearer it becomes how challenging this environment can be,

especially if you're mentally vulnerable.

So you not only have diabetes, but you suffer with depression.

You suffer with depression - have you ever had any issues?

What have you had to deal with?

-Depression as well. Depression.

-So do you think then,

if people were genuinely honest when it came to being booked in,

and ticked the right boxes,

there would be a much higher number of people

that the institution were aware of that need help...

-Of course.

-..that have psychological issues,

or mental health problems?

Right. Right.

Goodnight, man.

Just based on my own personal experiences,

and based on some of the things that I've been through in my own life,

it's very easy for me to spiral downwards when things get difficult,

you know, and to go into myself and to not want to really communicate,

or not to really want to express myself,

and I think that's what's happened with Alex.

He's definitely spiralled downwards at several points.

I thought that this place would be about the physical.

I thought it would be about aggression.

I thought it would be about throwing your weight around

and making sure that people wouldn't mess with you,

when, in reality, really,

it's about what's happening in your own mind,

and it's about the battle that you are fighting with yourself,

and letting anxiety and depression beat you.

They are the two things that everybody I speak to

seems to suffer with.

They are the two things that everybody I speak to

says this place magnifies, which you can understand cos,

if you're sleeping in here every night,

of course you're going to get depressed.

Of course you're going to feel anxious.

Morning.

What's up?

'The next morning, I find out that Demal's court hearing

'for his shoplifting offence has been delayed.'

As long as I am home before May,

Mother's Day and all of that, I don't care.

I don't even want anybody in my family to know I'm here.

-They don't know you're here?

-No.

Where do they think you are?

They probably just think I'm still here in San Antonio,

just having fun.

The reason being is because I was actually the only one

out of my family that never went to jail,

so it's like I don't want tell them and then disappoint them,

so I'm just like, "Oh, well, just leave it alone."

Once I get time served, they really would never know.

So you think you're never going to tell them?

No, I'm never going to tell them. I'm never going to tell them.

The only way it happens is...

The only way it happens is, whenever God takes me from here,

they just get the chance to dig up records,

that's the only way they're going to find out

because I'm not going to tell them, never.

Just feeling that little bit of sun on your face is real nice, man.

It's pathetic. I feel ridiculous,

but...just not seeing sunlight

is enough to make you get excited about this.

I can honestly say that I've never been in a situation

this oppressive before. I've never...sort of had these feelings

of...of frustration.

Of being out of control. I mean, I'm not a control freak,

but, for my entire adult life, I've in charge of where I go, what I do,

when I eat, what I eat, and having that taken away.

It's a small thing, but you're under a microscope here -

everything feels magnified,

everything feels bigger, everything feels exaggerated.

I don't like what this is doing to my mind.

I don't like how strong I'm needing to be to silence...

certain anxieties...

..or...some feelings of depression, even.

That room is depressing.

The fact you can't turn the light out is oppressive.

If I was in a lesser state of mind,

I would be really worried for myself, being in here,

cos I'm starting to see how this place messes with you.

This morning, I'm going to speak to the man in charge

of the day-to-day running of this jail - Deputy Chief Reyes.

What's that, code two?

-Code two, yes.

-What does that mean?

It's an officer in need of assistance.

As soon as I meet him, there is an incident that needs his attention.

It may not be a fight, maybe two inmates arguing

and the officer's trying to de-escalate it.

The elevator, right here.

Stick with me - you look like an inmate running around!

LAUGHTER

-Inmate running probably doesn't go down very well!

-Exactly.

MUZAK PLAYS

-Oh, this is...

-Elevator music for you.

..pretty fitting music on the way up to a code two...

as you do.

Here we go.

Hold on. Watch out. Move out of the way.

-Stay to the side.

-Move, move, move!

Return back to your cell.

What the hell just happened?

What happens is you have a what we call a disruptive inmate,

so the officer initiated a code two so the response team can

come to the unit and prevent the incident from escalating

-to a use of force or to a fight.

-So, who exactly are the team?

-I saw them in the mental health unit.

-Right, the individuals...

-These guys moved a lot quicker today.

-Yeah!

So, the individuals dressed in green

are what we call our special emergency response team,

it's a really neat feature to have in our facility,

but they receive special training in not only in weapons and tactics,

but in crisis negotiation, hostage negotiation and firefighting.

-Hostage negotiation?

-Right.

-Have you ever had anything like that?

No, luckily, we've never had to deal with a hostage issue here.

Once the situation is settled down,

Chief Reyes explains the pressures the system faces

in handling mental health.

We're seeing this all across America,

the jails are becoming the de facto mental health facilities.

-With the defunding of mental health hospitals...

-Yeah.

..the mental health inmates end up making their way into jails

and our primary purpose is security -

we end up having to serve as a treatment facility.

So if the jail is acting as a treatment facility,

and you're treating people, how responsible for these inmates

once they've been treated and their time served are you guys?

While they are in our custody we're completely responsible for them,

with their mental health or not.

Once they get released, the responsibility falls on them

to do follow-up care. And we try to connect them with the services

in the community, so they can continue those cares, medication...

They're not going to do that, are they?

Well, can't force them to do it - they're adults.

We reach out to the family sometimes.

We have certain restrictions on release,

so if we know that there is a mental health individual

who doesn't do very well at night,

we have what we call a daylight release.

You can't do that for everyone, though.

I mean, if I were a citizen,

I wouldn't expect you guys to be running checkups on everyone.

-Right...

-I would expect you to be focused on the people

coming through the door, so you can't be responsible

for people once they leave.

The jail doesn't have the resources to do that after care follow-up,

if you will, but there are programmes in the community

that specialise in that

and it's a matter of connecting those individuals

with those resources -

but, like with anything, we can't force them to do it.

Returning to the AA unit, I hear Alex has had some good news.

He's been given a job while he's in jail

and could, in the next month,

be moved to a rehab facility to complete his sentence.

How did it go? How much longer does that mean you'll be in here?

A week or two, maybe three, tops.

How do you think you'll cope in here for another week?

Cos you've been kind of up and down.

I've got people here that are good people.

And you've got a job now, too,

-so you've got something to keep you occupied.

-Yeah, man.

Yeah, I got a job. I'm feeding people now!

-So you're feeling comfortable and you're feeling confident?

-Yeah.

I've got Warren here, I got Dee, my homeboy right here,

-they're all good people.

-Yeah.

-They're all good people.

One of the things that did worry me about you on the first night

was that you were having suicidal feelings and suicidal thoughts.

Is that the case now? Do think that might happen again?

It...

It makes me think it, but knowing that I have so much,

that, if I did, I have so much to lose, you know,

so it's not worth it. I'm not going to be here for long.

But I don't want to get too comfortable either, man,

-I don't want to be here at all!

-Yeah.

It's not a good place to live.

So, I'm going to keep my head up, be strong,

and even though I have bad thoughts, I just pray to God.

That's what I do all the time,

when I have those thoughts, just pray to God.

That's what my mom says.

She says it can rain for a long time, but it can't rain forever.

I'm not sad to leave at all,

I'm not sad to see the back of this place,

but I feel really shit for these guys cos they've to stay here.

A lot of people have to stay here for hell of a long time, as well.

And they're good kids, most of them,

they've just done some stupid things to get here.

I don't know, man. I mean...

Nobody's here by accident,

everybody's done something,

but, in my humble opinion, should they all be here?

Should they all be in jail for what they've done? No.

Come on, man. If you are 19 and you steal a T-shirt,

should you go to jail? For a month.

That just breeds resentment.

I don't think that that rehabilitates.

So...I am looking forward to getting my arse out of here

because this isn't the place for me, by any means.

But, you know, I've met some good people,

who've done some stupid things,

and hopefully won't be seeing this place again,

but...who knows?

I'll be leaving tomorrow morning

and, as Alex is due to start a night in his new job,

I say my goodbyes now.

-Yo.

-Hey, Reggie.

By the time you wake up in the morning,

I'll probably be out of here.

-Yeah?

-Cos I'm going to go first thing, pretty much.

About 10, 11 o'clock, I reckon, it'll be.

-Oh, wow.

-I'll be out of here,

so you'll still be working, if not fast asleep, right?

-Yeah. All right.

-Pleasure meeting you, man.

-You, too, Reggie.

-Come here, bruv.

-Yeah, man.

Hey, hey, I never got your last name.

-Yates.

-Yates?

-Yeah.

-Like...

-Not Gates, Yates.

-Yeah.

-All right, all right, all right. All right.

-Keep your head up, bro.

-Reggie Yates. I'll look you up, man.

-Please do.

-All right.

I mean, there's no direct windows to the sunlight.

So you have to sort of judge by little bits of light

that come through,

and, yeah, it looks like there might just be a nice bit of sun

out there today.

Perfect day for release, I think.

-Nice meeting you, man.

-You too, bruv.

-Hey, be careful, bro.

-I'll try.

I'm out. Nice to meet you.

Pleasure to meet you.

-I'm out.

-Whoo!

You just go over there.

It's so crazy, just being this close to the exit door,

you can hardly feel...

You can feel how different the air feels on your face and...

it just smells different in here, as well.

All right, sir, do me a favour.

Can you have a seat on that metal bench?

We'll be right with you.

-Yates, Reginald.

-That's me.

Good luck.

Thumb.

We're doing one of each, one at a time.

'As my time here comes to an end,

'I can't help but question whether jail is the right environment

'for some of the inmates I've met.'

Every item of clothing I put on,

I'm starting to feel more and more like me again.

It's the strangest feeling in the world.

Yes!

This is... This is me,

so...

Incarcerating such large numbers of people for such low-level crimes

seems to create more problems than it solves.

Bexar County are doing more for the mentally ill than most jails...

..but the system as a whole has some way to go

before it's really working for those who need it.

My eyes are killing me!

Whoa.

Never again.