Breaking the Cycle of Violence

Harold “the Prince” Pleasant started getting into trouble when he was 13 years old. He stole a car and served time at a county camp.

By 15, he was a burglar and a drug addict. He also sold drugs to an undercover officer and was arrested twice for assaulting police.

But on Thursday, Pleasant was among 25 inmates who graduated from Amer-I-can, a pilot program to quell tensions at the East Facility of Pitchess Detention Center. Last month, black and Latino inmates at the Castaic facility had six brawls, injuring 35 prisoners.

The Amer-I-can program is a 60-hour training program created by National Football League Hall of Fame running back and community activist Jim Brown. Thursday’s graduating class was the jail’s second; 75 other Latino, black and white inmates have signed up for future sessions.

“This is about taking responsibility for their own actions,” said Brown. The ceremony was held in a windowless cafeteria with stainless steel tables. The program stresses anger management and conflict resolution, especially among warring blacks and Latinos.

“When Latinos and African Americans can get together to bring about something positive, that’s what Amer-I-can is all about,” Brown said.

There have been more than 150 race-related fights at Pitchess since 1991, mostly between blacks and Latinos. Sheriff’s deputies are prohibited from segregating prisoners by race--even though inmates have long imposed their own brand of separation, officials said.

Blacks, Latinos and whites each have their own leaders--known as shot callers--who voice complaints and concerns to officials and direct their respective groups inside the jails. The three groups also divide up phones, territory and amenities, such as television time.

To decrease the potential for violence, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has introduced several measures, including the transfer of murder suspects and younger prisoners to the Men’s Central and Century Regional jails, which have two- and four-man cells. Pitchess prisoners are housed in large dormitories with as many as 120 bunks.

Baca has appointed two deputies to act as inmate liaisons at the East Facility of Pitchess. One of them is Wendell Smith, who has 17 years in the department. A barrel-chested man with a broad smile and an easy manner, Smith said his new position has attracted some jeers because his peers think he is too soft on inmates.

“I don’t have anything to prove,” Smith said.

Smith is critical of some of his colleagues at Pitchess, saying that their objective was to treat inmates badly. “Give them respect,” Smith said. “And they’ll give you respect.”

So far, Baca’s efforts appear to be working. Since April, there have been no riots at the East Facility.

Pitchess’ North County Correctional Facility and North Facility have not fared as well. Last Friday, 190 inmates in two separate North Facility dormitories rioted for eight minutes after an argument about the volume of the television, officials said.

Deputies stopped the fight by throwing grenades that shoot out plastic pellets and by firing balls of pepper spray and tear gas.

On Aug. 17, 63 black and Latino inmates fought at the North County Correctional Facility because an African American man crossed racial lines.

“A black inmate was hanging with the Southsiders [a Latino gang]. He was friends with them on the outside and he refused to go along with the other black inmates,” said Pitchess Detention Cmdr. Steven Day. “It’s a really ugly thing that happens in our system. Best friends might grow up right next to each other, but in here they have to separate. It’s really a shame.”

In the program, 25 inmates are housed in a dormitory with prisoners in a drug rehabilitation program. For two weeks, the inmates attend class for six hours a day.

Amer-I-can Project Director Tarik Ross said the inmates are also encouraged to keep in contact with the program after their release. “Their main challenge when they get out is going to be staying focused on their goals and not getting involved in drugs or crime,” Ross said.