Tammy Johnson
CRJ303: Corrections
Professor Jeffrey Cudworth
January 7, 2013
Jails and Prisons Jails and prisons are both types of sanctions that are used for convicted offenders that have committed crimes, but there are many differences in the two. “Jails are locally operated short- term confinement facilities originally built to hold suspects following arrest and pending trail. Today’s jails also serve these purposes: * They receive individuals pending arraignment and hold them awaiting trail, conviction or sentencing. * They readmit probation, parole, and bail-bond violators and absconders. * They temporarily detain juveniles, the mentally ill, and others pending transfer to appropriate facilities. * They hold individuals for the military, for protective custody, for contempt, and for the courts as witnesses. * They release convicted inmates to the community upon completion of their sentence. * They transfer inmates to federal, state, or other authorities. * They house inmates for federal, state or other authorities because of overcrowding in their facilities. * They operate community-based programs with day reporting, home detention, electronic monitoring, or other types of supervision. * They hold inmates sentenced to short terms (generally less than one year)” (Schmalleger, 2009, p. 486).
But when it comes down to giving a description of prisons on the other hand are not quite as detailed. “The primary function of prisons is to hold convicted felons, usually serving a sentence of one year or more, whereas convicted felons serving shorter sentences usually serve their time in local jails. Inmates consider jail sentences very “hard time,” since jails do not have the full range of education, vocational training, work, recreational, or other treatment programs that area available in prisons. Since prisons are designed to hold inmates for longer terms they need to provide a full range of programs,