Jails and prisons are different, with jails used for short-term confinement by local jurisdictions and prisons used for longer-term housing of convicted criminals by the state. Prisons have more facilities and services, while prisons have stricter security and handle more prisoners. Both are part of the criminal justice system.
Although the terms “jail” and “jail” are sometimes used interchangeably, most members of law enforcement agencies distinguish between the two. Primarily, the difference is that a prison is used by local jurisdictions such as counties and cities to confine people for short periods of time. A prison, or penitentiary, is administered by the state and is used to house convicted criminals for much longer term periods. Both are part of a larger criminal justice system that includes other aspects of criminal justice such as courts, law enforcement agencies, and crime laboratories.
Because a prison is designed for only short periods of time, it tends to have fewer facilities than a prison. Individuals who are housed in a prison have access to toilets and are provided with food and water, and in a low-security prison, may be able to socialize in common areas during certain times of the day. Most prisons are designed to hold very small numbers of offenders and have relatively lax security compared to prisons, although in areas prone to violence, a prison can be run along very strict lines. A prison houses people who have been sentenced to serve a short sentence, people awaiting trial, people who have not yet paid bail, and inmates who have just been arrested on suspicion of having committed a crime. Criminals are tried through a booking procedure and the criminal justice system decides what to do with them next.
In a prison, the services are much more extensive, as some prisoners may serve their lives behind bars. Prisons have exercise areas, common areas for eating and socializing in lower security areas, church facilities and an educational facility that includes classrooms, libraries and laboratories in which to work and study. In lower security prisons such as those used to imprison people convicted of white-collar crimes, the prison could sometimes be mistaken for a hotel. In most cases, prisoners are expected to share cells with other prisoners, and due to the long length of most prison sentences, a complex social and political structure is created between prisoners.
A prison can handle many more prisoners than a prison can, and prisoners are typically segregated based on the types of crimes they have been convicted of, as a safety precaution. Furthermore, in countries where capital punishment still exists, a prison has facilities for carrying out death sentences, as well as accommodation for criminals sentenced to this type of punishment. In general, the entire prison facility is very well protected, even if not all criminals inside are violent, to prevent escapes or potential violence between prison wings. Prison staff are specially trained to work in a prison environment, and a state-appointed board of governors oversees prison management.
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