In a Texan Jail

fight, maybe too. I argue with the officer who tries to reduce the tension. He did it well. I have to stay with you. I forgot you look like a prisoner running prisoner running probably doesn't go down very well I'm sure, oh, this is there for you, quite suitable music on the way to code 2 while you do what, careful, careful, careful on the way, yeah stay to the side stay to the side stay to the side move to the side let's go back to your cell get out of pH what the heck just then what's up are you I have what we call a disruptive inmate so the officer started code two so the response team can come to the union and prevent the incident from escalating into use of force or a fight.

So who exactly are the team that I saw them in the mental hospital? health unit the individuals These guys these guys moved much faster today yeah so the individuals dressed in green or what we call our special Emergency Response Team uh it's a very cool feature to have in our facilities, but they received special training and not just weapons and tactics. but in you know, crisis negotiation, hostage negotiation, firefighting, hostage negotiation, has anything like that ever happened to you? No, fortunately we've never had to deal with the issue of hostages here once the situation has calmed down.

Chief Rayes explains the pressures the system faces in its management. Mental Health: We are seeing this all over the United States, prisons are becoming de facto mental health facilities with the defunding of mental health hospitals, mental health inmates end up coming to prisons and while our main purpose is security, we end up having This serves as a treatment center, so if the

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acts as a treatment center and you are treating people, how responsible are you for these inmates once they have been treated in that set time while they are in our custody? completely responsible for them, whether they are mental health or not, once they are released, the responsibility falls on them to provide follow-up care and we try to connect them with community services so that they can continue that care and those medicines. we're going to do it, but we can't force them to do it, they're all, they're adults, we'll communicate with their family, sometimes we have certain restrictions on release, so if we know there's a mental health person that doesn't I'm not doing very well. at night, we have what we call day release, but you can't do that for everyone, although I mean, as if I were a citizen, I wouldn't expect you to do checks on everyone.

You would be expected to focus on the people who walk in the door, so you can't be responsible for the people once they leave the

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. You don't have the resources to do it after follow up care if you want, but there are programs in the community that specialize in that and it's a matter of connecting those people to those resources, but like with anything, we can't force you to do so upon returning to the AA unit. I heard that Alex had good news: they gave him a job while he is in jail and he could be transferred to a rehabilitation center in the next month to complete his sentence.

How much longer does that mean you'll be here a week or two, maybe three at most? How do you think you'll last there for another one? week because you have been up and down. I have people here who are good people, you know, and now you have a job too, so you have time to hold on, yeah, I have a job. I'm feeding people now, so you sit down. comfortable and you feel comfortable staying longer. I got here and I got here and they're all good people, yeah, yeah, they're all good people. One of the things that worried me about you the first night was that you were having suicidal tendencies is that the case now you think it could happen again it just makes me think it makes me think about it but knowing that I have so much that if I did it I would have a lot to lose.

You know, it's not worth it. I won't be here for long, but I don't want to get too comfortable either. I don't want to be at all. It's not a good place to live, so yeah. I'm going to keep my head up even if I have bad thoughts I'm just going to go to God that's what I do all the time when I have those thoughts God that's what my mom says it says it can rain for a long time but it can't rain for always. I'm not sad to leave at all. I'm not sad to see the back of this place, but I feel so sorry for these guys because they have to stay here.

Many people have to stay. here for a long time too and you know they're good kids, most of them just did some stupid things to get here. I don't know, man, I mean, no one is here by accident, everyone has done something, but IMHO. Should everyone be here? Should they all be in jail for what they have done? No, come on, man, if you're 19 and you steal a t-shirt. Should you go to jail for a month? I only breathe resentment, I don't think so. That rehabilitates, so I'm looking forward to getting my house out of here because this is not the place for me by any means, but you know I've met some good people who have done some stupid things and I hope they're not.

Seeing this place again, but who knows, I'll be leaving tomorrow morning and since Alex has to start a night shift at his new job, I'm saying goodbye now. Hey, when you wake up in the morning, I'll probably already be out. here because I want to go first thing or so about I 10 11:00 I think I'll be oh W I'll be out here so you'll keep working if you're not fast asleep brother yeah man I beg to meet you man you too. come here, come on, hey, hey, I never knew your last name, Yates Yates, yeah, of course, Gates Yates, okay, okay, okay, stay the course, regie Yates, I'll look for you, man, please do it right Oh, there are no direct sunlight windows, so you have to judge by the little bits of light coming in and it looks like there could be a good amount of sun today, perfect day for release.

I think hey, be careful, bro, try it. I'm out, nice to meet you. I pray to meet you, man, that's crazy, just being so close to the exit, even though you can already feel, you can feel how different the air feels on your face and smells different. Okay, Mr. CLE, you have a seat. That metal bench and we will be with you Yates Reginal, I do one of each at a time when my time here comes to an end. I can't help but wonder if prison is the right environment for some of the inmates. I have known every item of clothing I wear.

I'm starting to feel more and more like myself again. It's the strangest feeling in the world. Yes, this is me. Imprisoning such a large number of people for such low-level crimes seems to create more problems and solve them Bear County is doing more for the mentally ill than most of the J, but the system as a whole has a long way to go before it actually works for those who need it. My eyes are killing me anymore.