For some, a night on the town can quickly go wrong, and lead to a night in the local jail.

While TV might give you an idea of what jail life is like, where people go between the moment they're arrested, and when they go behind bars is largely a mystery to those who've never found themselves taken downtown.

Because those who enter jail are presumed innocent and can only be found guilty by a court of law, we've concealed the identities of those arrested while our camera was inside intake. 

At 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, the staff at the Minnehaha County Jail is gearing up for the weekend rush. They expect to see 30 to 50 people come through their doors on a typical night. But this wasn't a typical weekend; it's also Halloween. That means officers expected some extra traffic.

"Just like South Dakota's weather, in here it can be dead calm and two minutes later, there's no room for movement," Sergeant Rod Axsom said.

Not long into our visit, a man who was arrested didn't want to answer the questions of intake officers.

"One on one, how much you want to bet I can kill you? I'm not even trying to fight you,” the man said.

"Everything from total disbelief to crying to complete uncontrollable rage, we get in here. We just have to do whatever it is at the time to control it," Sergeant Axsom said.

Because he made threats and could have become violent, a camera was brought in for documentation. Like everyone else who comes to intake, eventually he was taken to a side room, where he removed his clothing, and put on the jailhouse stripes. From there, it's on to the booking room.

It's in the booking room where fingerprints are taken electronically. Mug shot photos are snapped and those under arrest can make phones calls to family or to arrange bond. If bond isn't an option, intake officers will determine where the person in custody will spend the night.

It wasn't long before Sioux Falls police brought in another man; this one appeared to be passing in and out of consciousness.

He was given a breathalyzer, but because he didn't blow in it strongly enough, the reading could have come out extremely low. A nurse was called in to check his vitals and determine whether he needed to be taken to a hospital.

"We get people that are as close to that as you can possibly get. That's probably one of the worst I've ever seen. But we do get them that they're so intoxicated they can't function," Sergeant Axsom said.

Officers only know his first name, but not an age. He told them he's 17, and that he was born in 1902. That would make him 107. When questioned again, he said 20, then 24. Eventually, he was placed in a wheelchair and taken to a holding room where a nurse continued to monitor his condition.

“Sometimes you just have to wait. You try to dig up as much as you can on the computer, but sometimes you just have to wait until they're sober enough to talk to you," Sergeant Axsom said.

Those who work in intake say it's pretty typical to be called any name in the book, and they'll take it, because they have thick skin.

"They try to dig at you and belittle you because they're in a position they don't want to be in, and they'll take it out on you. I'm going home at the end of my shift and they're probably not. So that's probably another way to look at it. I'm not the one who broke the law to get me here. You can say what you want to say, but I'm going home," Sergeant Axsom said.

As even more arrestees were brought into intake, a theme became clear.

"Probably 95 percent or more is alcohol related when people come here," Sergeant Axsom said.

A man was arrested for allegedly not leaving a local bar after being told to do so. He had already been pepper-sprayed by police officers, and didn't want to cooperate with intake officers.

"I've done nothing wrong, nothing wrong, man,” the arrestee shouted.

He was placed in a specially-designed chair and strapped down to prevent harm to the officers or himself.

Each person's circumstances for coming here are different, but they're all going through a similar process.

"Somebody sits on this bench and the cuff goes on, a lot of times it hits them that, 'I'm actually in jail,' and then the emotions take over," Sergeant Axsom said.

Emotions that make them cry, make them angry and even make them violent, and all in a night's work, inside intake.

Again we want to stress that those who go through intake are still presumed innocent, and can only be convicted of a crime in court.

Some of those who bond out go home within two hours of entering intake.