. >> richard kirkland has worked at pelican bay since 1992. in 2004, he became warden of the prison. >> we have approximately in any year, particularly over the last several years, somewhere between 700 and 800 reportable incidents. we end up using force of some sort, whether that's pepper spray, physical holds or otherwise, in probably some 400 of those. >> inmates are assigned points based on the severity of their crimes and propensity to inflict violence on other inmates and staff. pelican bay houses level four inmates, including some of the most violent offenders in the state's correctional system. >> pelican bay does have a high quantity of very assaultive inmates. due to our mission at pelican bay, we're tasked with housing the worst inmates in the state of california. >> we house inmates that had problems programming in other institutions. they have disciplinaries, staff assaults, inmate assaults, conspiracy to commit assault, drug trafficking. you name it, and then we get them. >> pelican bay houses the most dangerous individuals in th