a 400-acre penal colony on the east river, directly under the flight path of the laguardia airport. the island is home to an average of 14,000 inmates in ten different facilities. >> we patrol the meanest precincts in america. when our officers go to work, everyday, they know everyone they run into is going to be a criminal. every criminal who has committed the worst act -- >> bring all your property with you. >> is coming through here if they're coming from new york city. >> they come off of the streets. they're tired, they're dirty, they're hungry. and you saw everything there, whether it was somebody who was from wall street who was charged with fraud or whether it was the lowest of the low of the drug dealers. >> we get between 80 to 90 admissions a day, around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 356 days a year. >> what size you wear? >> 8 1/2. >> guess what, 10 is your lucky number. these are air giulianis. you can have them, my brother. >> the city never sleeps. >> don your mask. >> while cell inspections are routine at all the jails and prisons pro-filed on "lockup," t

the penal colony. iraq island. the guards call it the meanest precinct in america. welcome to rikers island jail. >> it is easy to get cut up, stabbed, murdered, raped. all type of things you have to deal with in here. if everybody's thinking that this is all good, this is something coming and this is something to try, this is not the thing to try. this is a messed up environment. >> all you young bucks out there, you don't want to be here, you don't want to come here. stay out of trouble. >> when our officers go to work every day, they know everyone they run into is going to be a criminal, and they are going to be dealing with the worst criminals, people who -- every criminal who has committed the worst act. >> martin horn is the head of new york city's department of corrections. he's a 30-year veteran who's risen through the ranks. >> we are working with serious, dangerous criminals. rikers island has ten different facilities. we have 10,000 inmates, a little bit more than that. we transfer 1,500 inmates every day to 20 different courthouses in new york city. >> t