Corrections Jails and Prisons

Difference between Jails and Prisons

It is very often that the terms are “interchangeably”, but what most people do not know there is actually a significant difference between the two. It is not just case of semantics. If a person is in a prison or a jail it has to do with the crime that person committed and the period in the process. Along with that, the treatment the inmates receive also fluctuates between the two. People always do not know the difference between the two terms, jail or prison, because they do not what either one means. The big difference if a criminal will stay in a jail or prison facility; is the length of the person’s sentence. A jail facility is not a permanent holding facility. A jail is used to hold criminals who have been placed under arrest recently. Also people enter a jail if they are charged for a criminal act and cannot pay the bail or bond. A jail facility usually hold short sentence offenders generally misdemeanors or one year or less. The difference between a jail and prisons, a prison is designed for criminals with a longer sentence. (Felony offenders) The majority of convicted criminals serve their time in a prison facility. Along with the length of stay for the criminals, is who will run the facility? A jail is controlled by the county’s Sheriff’s Department; prisons are controlled by the state or federal government. Criminals who are convicted of a federal offense will be sent to a federal prison. People convicted of a state law will go to a state prison institution. “Because they’re meant to house inmates over months and years, prisons facilities are better developed than jail facilities” Most of prison facilities have different services such as religious studies, substance abuse programs, work release programs, job training, educational programs, and an on-site cafeteria and infirmary. Although jails are often “house people” who have been convicted (or accused) of smaller offenses, they are not