facility also houses richard ramirez, better known as the night stalker, and richard allen davis, polly klaas' killer. the prison is more than 150 years old. the walls are crumbling. and the institution is outdated, contributing to an overwhelming increase in both the number and severity of brutal assaults by inmates. during the next hour, you will witness life inside san quentin, including a look inside california's vicious death row. >> san quentin opened in 1852 and today, seems physically trapped in the century in which it was conceived. old and decrepit, san quentin is riddled with shadowy alcoves and blind spots. there are no electrified, lethal fences. the towers around the perimeter must still be staffed where, incredibly, there are fewer surveillance cameras than a single convenience store. and worse yet, a lack of modernization has put officers in constant risk of inmate attack. >> every day i walk through those gates, the thought crosses my mind. is today going to be the last? >> the grounds are a sprawling 432 acres located on the shores of beautiful san francisco bay. >> customer

klaas. he said, i have been involved in organizing civilian search efforts since my daughter, polly, was kidnapped in 1993. none of the numerous searches that we have engaged that ever been stonewalded by the jurisdictional law enforcement like the search for sierra lamar. marc klaas has been active and very vocal since sierra lamar disappeared a year ago. in his statement, klaas says sheriff smith has ignored all the volunteer requests for help, be it informational or personal help. smith is in a contentious fight against the former captain in the sheriff's office to keep her post. the klaas statement does have political overtones since he announced he is endorsing kevin jenison, saying the county needs a new sheriff. about 30 seconds ago, i got a text from the political consultant of lori smith. he says, partly, it is sad that mr. klaas is so thoroughly misinformed on this subject. no individual has done more to protect the public from the suspect or followed up more leads in the search for sierra lamar. it's very contentious now, here at the steps of the sheriff's office in noon, it will be vic

klaas speaks from firsthand experience. in 1993, his 12-year-old daughter was kidnapped from her own bedroom during a sleepover. >> my daughter pollykidnapped by a vicious, brutal, long-time criminal was thought to have run away for a long period of time. it offers a very easy justification for law enforcement not to get involved in these cases. when you look at the number of cases you can kind of understand that it would really overwhelm them. >> despite launching a two-month search to find his daughter, klaas experienced the same frustrations about law enforcement's reaction to the abduction. >> they developed a profile of polly's case and suggested she had run away with her boyfriend to avoid having to move. not only were they convinced of this but they browbeat the two girls that were with polly for a couple of weeks until they were able to be convinced otherwise. >> my daughter got kidnapped. >> for three years bruce johnson has struggled daily with the trauma of dealing with the police department he says failed his family. >> it's across the street now. there's a guy beating up a man on the grass. >> this is the 911 tape from

klaas said he's had enough. "i have been involved in organizing civilian search efforts since my daughter polly was kidnapped in 1993. none of the numerous searches we have engaged have ever been stonewalled by the jurisdictional law enforcement like the search for sierra la mar." she remains missing and santa clara county needs a new sheriff." >> we do think kevin will be a stronger voice for victims' rights. >> reporter: klaas' sentiment echoed by harriet solarno, founder of crime victims united. the sheriff fired back, "it is sad mr. klaas is so thoroughly misinformed on this subject. no individual has done more to protect the public from the suspect or followed up more leads in the search for sierra lamar." she disappeared more than two years ago when morgan hill, a grand jury indicted antolin garcia torres for murder even though sierra's body remains missing. nbc bay area political analyst harry gerson says he's not sure what evidence marc klaas has to say the sheriff is stonewalling the search for sierra lamar. he says often these political endorsements come out of impatience more than anything. >>> two h

klaas. he said i have been involved in organizing civilian search efforts since my daughter polly was abducted in 1993. sierra lamar remains missing and santa clara county needs a new sheriff. in reply, the political consultant said it is sad that mr. claus is so thr owely miss informed. the sheriff also said it's sad to see klaas use this politically. the group called crime victims united also came out against the sitting sheriff. >> there's been certain issues that have happened in santa clara county that brought on our attention. >> reporter: the volunteers say they'll be back out searching for sierra lamar tomorrow and every other saturday with or without the help of the sheriff. no doubt a lot of political overtones here. the deputy sheriff's association has been trying to get rid of sheriff smith for some time now, but some observers say throwing mark klaas into the fray and you kind of have to pay attention. the fair political practices commission is beginning to investigate some sort of complaint against jeffen jensen in regards to some questionable fund-raising according to an e-mail.

. >> reporter: that explanation doesn't sit well with marc klaas whose 12-year-old daughter polly wasd. >> i found no educational value to the video whatsoever. >> reporter: the brothers say they called the authorities shortly before the fake kidnapping to give them the heads-up but the officer who pulled them over didn't seem know. >> honestly i was told -- >> reporter: police are investigating if this was a crime. as your tiffany barnett -- >> my daughter is still scared. >> reporter: she just hopes the impact of this fake abduction was very real. for "today," joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. >> unbelievable. that police officer could have fired a gun at those people. who doesn't exactly buy that it was to teach others. set an example of what might happen. how about the electric guitar music playing in the background. >> it says we really didn't give it much thought before we did. >> tamron has got a lot of reaction to this. i agree with a lot of you. there are people on facebook who apparently see value on that prank on our facebook page. dawn says, while i understand people being