Behind Bars

Ukraine's prison for hardened criminals. Serial killers, child abusers, repeat offenders. All those behind the walls of this Soviet-built prison have already done time in at least three other Ukrainian jails - and learned nothing from that experience.

South Cotabato Jail. One of the most overcrowded prisons in the world. Murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. The guilty and the innocent. All are behind bars together. In a jail designed for 600 prisoners, more than 2000 inmates are crammed into cells the size of shoe boxes.

It's just a small prison, but a hard one. The Carcel Distrital in Bogotá, Colombia. Every day, the prison staff of 170 ensures stern discipline and order within the red brick walls. Their batons are loose and the inmates have to line up to be counted several times per day. Unannounced raids bring out a number of forbidden objects. This strict approach is necessary with nearly 1000 inmates.

The Carcel Distrital is located in one of the most dangerous quarters of Bogotá. Nearly 950 men and 50 women are imprisoned here. Most are still awaiting their final judgment. Their long wait may last for years: Justice in Columbia works slowly. Very slowly. This leads to great frustration. Many frustrated people in one place will always lead to great problems.

El Hongo is a high-security bunker in Mexico's desert. Sensors, cameras, mobile phone jammers - this prison is a veritable high-tech fortress. Snipers on fifteen guard towers make sure that nothing can get in or out. El Hongo is deemed perfectly incorruptible - in a country in which corruption runs through all levels of society like cancer.

Armavir Prison is Armenia's declaration of war on gangster culture. Once, inmates in Armenian prisons fell into the hands of the "Thieves in Law"- a criminal brotherhood rejecting state authority and living by its own code. They control the prison and control drug trade and smuggling. Nobody knows their leaders, but their power is immense.

La Mesa is a Mexican prison just over the US border. The inmates? Drug traffickers, rapists, cartel killers. They have tough times ahead. They hardly get to leave their cells. They sleep, eat, pee, all in a very confined space. Two square meters each - for up to eight inmates.