it's the largest city in bergen county, which is ranked as one of the most prosperous regions in the nation. just outside downtown hackensack is the bergen county jail. most of the nearly 900 inmates here are accused of crimes and are awaiting trial at the resolution of their cases. the majority of them are from somewhere else. many say bergen county is better than other jails. >> this is a country club. play chess all day. no problems. three tvs. it's country club. >> the country club reference goes back as long as i've been here. so i look at it as a compliment. a country club is a professional, well-organized, strict with rules and regulations. some of the hardened criminals like the dirty, grungy type of jail. they're not going to find that here. >> right here in bergen county jail, they got good, good people. just straight up real. >> with seven prior stays, enrique cruz qualifies as the jail's unofficial tour guide. >> this spanish harlem mover, except for the white guy in the back. he's cool. that's spanish harlem. you have uptown over here. [ bleep ]. sit your ass down, man. stay still. >> over a period of 26 years, cruz has spent time not o

bergen county, new jersey, ranks among america's wealthiest communities. its largest city is hackensack. just outside downtown is its own crossroads of the world. but virtually no one comes to the bergen county jail looking for good times. >> peanut butter and jelly. i ain't 4 years old. >> most of the roughly 800 men and 50 women here have only been charged with crimes. and are awaiting trial or the resolution of their cases. >> gentlemen, to your cells. go, fellows, put it down. to your cells. let's go. >> having spent nearly two years in the jail's maximum security unit as his case moves through the courts, david goodell has picked up a new skill or two. >> when i was locked in the cell by myself they kind of let me get like art activities. you got this for origami. i used to make ducks, flowers, birds, planes, like a butterfly, dinosaurs, frogs, everything. flower. it came out a little bit better, i was kind of rushing though. but it's the basic idea. >> i've been doing this job over 22 years. i believe david goodell is potentially one of the most dangerous inmates we've ever dealt with here. he's very intelligent. he can be narcissistic, self-aggrandizing. and he can be manipulative to the p

connected to what matters most. >>> bergen county, new jersey, is ranked as one of the most prosperous communities in the united states. but behind the walls at the bergen county jail in hackensack is a very different world. in the maximum security unit, surprise searches for contraband are a regular part olife. >> shake-downs here in the bergen county jail are performed on a continuous but sporadic basis. it's to catch the inmates off guard. >> spread your legs. >> i personally like that they get too comfortable being anywhere. i consider it my house, you're a visitor. you get in there, too comfortable, too bad. >> we're looking for contraband. >> he use as a weapon. grab somebody from behind. >> contraband can go from as far as a weapon and it also goes to excess. inmates can buy a newspaper, if they have 50 weeks of newspapers, it's got to go. >> these guys are here for a long term. they accumulate more stuff. >> today julio flores will lose some excess items in his cell. >> back it up. >> inmates are allowed only two pencils in a cell, anything over that is confiscated. >> how many pencils do you think you lost here today? >> irlost like six, seven pencils. it'

. >> we talked to stephen scharf at the bergen county jail, where he was held for more than two yearsfter his arrest in 2008. he and his wife tina say they've paid a high price for something he didn't do. >> when we visit, it's through a piece of plate glass. our daughter is 2 1/2 and has still never been held by her father because we don't have contact visits. >> it's not just a tragedy for jody, it's a tragedy for john. it's a tragedy for my wife. it's a tragedy for my daughter. and for myself. >> still, he decided not to take the stand in his own defense, but told "dateline" that what he first said years ago about his wife's death was the truth. >> i wish it didn't happen. i wish we had gone to the comedy club. but i didn't -- i'm innocent. >> but had the jury gotten that same message? when they walked into that deliberating room for the first time, some jurors in fact planned to vote not guilty. >> there wasn't enough evidence for me. that's what it was. >> others were thinking guilty. >> it was several things. it was no one thing that made up my mind. >> the jurors went back and