Vice news reporter Kaj Larsen takes viewers inside California’s Salinas Valley State Penitentiary, one of the most notorious high security prisons in the United States. It’s home to several dangerous gangs, with an estimated 700 attacks this year alone, which many viewers were told is actually an improvement over past years.
Salinas has reversed expectations in a unique way, revealing that progressive options are being explored to raise expectations for inmate rehabilitation. The new focus is on meditation and mindfulness exercises, an alternative approach to gang violence in prisons.
Yet outside the serene atmosphere of meditation, the realities of prison life are uninterrupted. In an effort to describe how ubiquitous gang violence infiltrates the mentality and behavior of prisoners, Air Force medics arrive to rescue a prisoner who has just been hit by a shell.
Larson described the unique power of prison gangs when he asked about a typical first day for a white man like himself. It was explained that he would be asked for his ID by the gang leader and divided into groups by race. The organization and influence of these gangs basically correspond to the prison administration.
As an example of a success story, Larsen talks to a paroled ex-gang member who explains the “debriefing process” in which inmates are pulled out of the gang and onto the reformation path, and his relief at being out of the system and life away from prison.
With the U.S. prison system reaching capacity and the need to release prisoners greater than ever, prisons like Salinas are working to reduce the risk to the public. The film addresses the sustainability of the U.S. prison system — home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but houses 20 percent of the world’s prisoners — and explains that Salinas Prison’s efforts are aimed at making Violent prisoners rehabilitate for eventual reintegration into the wider community.
