I Spent 14 Years in Gang Intelligence — Here's What I Found Inside America's Jails | Steve Lundquist

Steve Lundquist spent 14 years as a Gang Intelligence Sergeant inside Suffolk County's jail on Long Island, New York — tracking some of the most dangerous gang members in the country. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Steve breaks down exactly what goes on behind the walls that nobody outside ever sees. From identifying gang leaders the moment they walk through the door to monitoring phone calls that give inmates away, Steve shares the insider knowledge that took him 14 years to accumulate — and the cases involving Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, MS-13, 18th Street and local neighborhood crews that defined his career. _____________________________________________ #GangIntelligence #TrueCrime #prisonsecrets _____________________________________________ Thank you to QUINCE for sponsoring this episode: Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to https://quince.com/lockedin for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 14 Years in Gang Intelligence — Steve's Full Story 00:23 Growing Up and the Early Influences That Led Him to Law Enforcement 01:54 The Childhood Inspiration and Career Path Nobody Expected 02:34 How He Went From Restaurants to Corrections — The Career Shift That Changed Everything 03:00 What the Corrections Test and Hiring Process Actually Look Like 04:02 Academy Training and the First Impressions That Surprised Him Most 06:28 The Jail Facilities Population and Roles Nobody Explains Before You Start 07:35 His First Day on the Job and the Lessons That Hit Him Immediately 08:22 The Most Common Inmate Charges and How Facilities Are Actually Structured 09:53 The Inmate Mental Health Crisis and What It Does to the Officers Who See It Daily 12:00 The Human Side of Jail — The Stories That Stay With You 13:13 How He Got Into Gang Intelligence at Suffolk County Jail 14:25 Rising From Officer to Investigator — What That Career Progression Really Looks Like 15:21 Life as a Sergeant — The Leadership Challenges Nobody Warns You About 17:04 Daily Duties in the Gang Unit — What It Actually Looks Like From the Inside 18:02 Jailhouse Snitches — How to Manage Information and Who You Can Actually Trust 21:11 Gang Dynamics Separation and the Situations That Can Turn Deadly Fast 22:00 How Contraband Gets In — Phone Calls and the Intelligence Gathering Nobody Sees 23:12 How He Built Trust With Inmates to Get the Information That Mattered 25:36 The Major Gangs Their Affiliations and How Gang Investigations Actually Work 28:33 Jail Politics Prison Hierarchies and How Inmate Segregation Really Works 31:36 What Inmates Actually Fight Over — Food TV Technology and the Petty Battles That Turn Violent 37:09 The Contraband Methods That Shocked Him Most and How Daily Operations Handle Them 41:41 Handling Informants and the Dangerous Situations Nobody Prepares You For 45:27 Weapons Smuggling and the Gang Violence That Defines Life Inside 47:50 Female Inmates and Gang Involvement — What Most People Don't Know 50:15 How Inmates Communicate — Kites Hand Signs and the Coded Language Officers Learn to Read 52:01 Gang Hierarchies Shot Callers and the Set Politics That Run Everything 54:32 Officer Safety Use of Force and What It Really Takes to Maintain Security 01:00:31 The Mental Toll of a Career in Corrections — What It Does to You Over Time 01:04:06 The Respect He Gained the Lessons He Learned and the Impact That Lasted 01:07:08 How the Media Gets Corrections Wrong and What He Wants the Public to Know _____________________________________________ To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices