The first thing you notice is the gleaming stainless-steel toilet that no one wants to take a dump in. It is the only thing that gleams, or even looks remotely clean in this holding cell at the Riverside County Jailhouse. It might gleam, but it is far from sanitary, being covered with urine while toilet paper hangs at various angles and in various states of decomposition from its sides. As for the toilet paper, there’s none available as any rolls are in use as pillows for detainees trying to sleep off or sleep through their misery. In this small fifteen-foot square room affectionately known as “the tank,” the newly incarcerated await their fate. Once fingerprinted and otherwise “booked” the slow arriving bail amount is revealed as well as the date of arraignment in the event that bail cannot be arranged. It used to be that law enforcement couldn’t hold you…
