The threat of violence is a constant distraction at DJJ facilities. In 2004, a six-month investigation by the "San Jose Mercury News" uncovered deep systemic flaws, concluding that violence was predominant, gangs ruled, and fear was pervasive. The "Mercury News" reported that, at any given time, dozens of young men are held in isolation cells for fighting or other offenses at the state's two maximum security facilities, and that wards sometimes threw human waste, blood or semen through the slots in their cell doors.