san quentin state prison served as the reception center for 17 counties in the state of california. each week, the prison releases 150 prisoners. and welcomes 350 new inmates. san quentin was built to hold about 3,000 people. it currently houses more than 5,000. >> unfortunate for some of them, they think this is a step up. in the circles they travel in, unfortunately, it is. you know, i made it. i'm in state prison now. >> with repeat offenders clogging up the works, the officers struggle to keep the inmates under control. >> control, be advised we have an alarm in south block. >> i can only speculate and the only thing i can think of is we have a missing inmate. that's probably the number one thing. >> step on the tiers and conduct a count, submit it to patrol immediately. >> 5-west-45, hernandez. i don't know where he is. >> his name is skanvinsky hymes. my prison number is e-04448. i've had this prison number since i was 18 years old. i just turned 37 on february 15th. i'll be discharged from the prison system in a matter of about four days. >> you know what, for the record, show

prisons. dangerous. often deadly. there are 2 million people doing time. every day is a battle to survive and to maintain order. >> down on your feet, down! >> among the nation's most notorious institutions, san quentin state prison. our cameras spent months documenting life on the inside. where gangs, drugs, and sheer boredom make up a violent mix. this is "lockup san quentin: extended stay." >> san quentin is home to more than 5,000 inmates, ranging from the most violent offenders in california. >> i'll rob you in a minute. don't get me wrong. >> i pulled a gun on this man and shot him six times in his chest. >> to the all too common parole violators flooding the system. >> i do drugs. that's my violation. >> the overpopulated san quentin serves as the reception center for 17 counties in california. >> there's 384 inmates in this gym. right now i have six staff members. >> it's forced to house a dangerous mix of high and low-risk inmates. >> you got the drugs, you got the inmates to manufacture alcohol, you got the gangs, the weapons. so it can be real dangerous at times. ♪ >> i've been a pretty successful robber. >> level 4 inmates, the worst in california, are housed at san quentin while awaiting

i worked at san quentin prison, where i was promoted to sergeant there. >> supervisor cohen: and maybe you can speak to what you see, 'cause i, too, have seen you at the police commission meetings at an active participant. speak to the neighborhood level needs: things that you've seen, things that you've experienced. i've seen you on marchs, rallies. i've heard you articulate concerns in public comment. talk to me a little bit about how you believe that serving on this policy body would help bridge the cap gaps from you a both have heard crying out for reform. >> well, that's very significant to me because when we have these town halls, police commissions, protests, or whatnot, it's -- it's apparent that there's a problem. for that many people to show up, to stand in those long lines. to say what they have to say, it's obvious there is ha problem. it connects with my experience with law enforcement, because i had the same problems. i've seen the side, what they're saying exists, but they have no way to prove it. i've actually proved it. i myself was instructed to antagonize and provoke

prisons. dangerous. often deadly. there are 2 million people doing time. every day is a battle to survive and to maintain order. >> down on your feet, down! >> among the nation's most notorious institutions, san quentins documenting life on the inside. where gangs, drugs, and sheer boredom make up a violent mix. this is "lockup san quentin: extended stay."

prison for 40 years. the 67-year-old is one of a handle of san quentin inmates who agreed to be interviewed about gun controlifestyle. don't go to gun shows for the most part. they get them off the streets, but get them from people who went to gun shows or gun stores and borrowed guns or they burglarize them from people who have bought the guns. >> i'm a former gang member. >> reporter: barkie carter tried to shoot and kill three people in 1994. he sees gun control as too little too late. >> it's too easy to buy a gun. i could get out right now, and i have never been out here, nowhere, up this way. if i have $500 right now, i could get me a gun just like that. >> easy? >> yeah. that's crazy. >> reporter: but because there are so many guns, you need a gun. >> you've got to be strapped because you don't know who is going to try to rob you or kill you. people like you now are strapping up. >> i car ray gun all the -- carry a gun all the time. i used to have a .44, a 380. >> at 19, hue was a san jose gang member, convicted of second-degree murder, he is doing 23 years to life. making guns harder to get will only

san quentin for decades. but a new report is raising questions, about whether he really belongs there. that story coming up, but this man has been sitting in prisonecades but a new report is raising questions about whether he really be longs there. >> that story is comelongs there. >> two acres of this dry grass has burned so far. this is over the east capital expressway. you can see the crews are out there, but that fire bumped right up to some back yards yards nearby. >> new at 6:00 san francisco mayor is introducing a first of its kind of its plan to bring treatment for drug addiction to the street. it is the treatment that could stop cravings immediately. >> the city actually started a pilot program like this in 2016. they went into homeless camps and 60% of the people who got this drug stayed clean. we're going to introduce you to one of them. >> it saved my life for sure. >> chris was an iv drug user for 30 years, homeless, addicted to opiates and almost died five times from overdoses only to be brought back to live by narcan injection. but it is with this new drug that brought him back. >> the department of public health says there are mor

san quentin for killing his wife lacy, and unborn son more than 15 years ago. the new mug shot is there on the left. it looks a lot like his previous one. the prisonequires inmates to take a new mug shot every seven years. lacy peterson was eight months pregnant when she disappeared right before christmas. months later her pregnant body washed ashore near richmond. >>> uber is going the extra mile to give riders some peace of mind. the company started testing a new security feature today allowing riders to dial 911 directly from their uber app. the call 911 button will store your location, the make and model of your driver's car, and its license plate number as it contacts emergency responders. now, six cities are testing out this new feature. none of them, though, are here in california, at least not yet. >>> up next, a bittersweet night for the giants. we'll show you what happened in denver. also we found some affordable ticket prices to sit courtside for the warriors. not really, but we'll tell you next. when the worst oil spill hit san francisco, first responders went to work. and mayor gavin newsom, he went to hawaii. man: newsome left the da