They go no farther than a concrete holding cell, where they wait for a bondsman or relative to post a bail bond. On a Friday night at the Bernalillo County Detention Center, there can be as many as 25 people in a holding cell designed to hold 18. There is one open commode. The air gets thick with body odor and the smell of vomit from the drunks. Inmates who aren't released on bond or their own recognizance are processed into the jail.
Officers take their clothes, except for underwear.
Inmates are allowed to keep their own shoes or tennis shoes, but not metal-toed boots. The sound of that door closing is the sound most people remember. There are two sets of rules behind those doors. The rules lay out when breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. In some jails, the inmates are given a handbook covering the rules they are supposed to follow.