TYPES OF PRISONS

Prisons are designed to house people who have broken the law and to remove them
from free society. Inmates are locked away for a set period of time and have very limited
freedoms during their incarceration. While every prison serves the same basic purpose,
there are many different types of prisons.

Juvenile
An individual under the age of 18 is considered a juvenile. Anyone who is not of a legal
age is never locked up in a general prison with adults. They are instead placed in a
facility that is designed exclusively for juveniles.

Minimum, Medium, and High Security

Minimum security prisons are usually reserved for white collar criminals who have
committed acts such as embezzlement or fraud. Although these are serious crimes,
they are non-violent in nature and therefore the perpetrators are not considered to be a
risk for violence. These perpetrators are sent to facilities that offer a dormitory-type
living environment, fewer guards, and more personal freedoms.

Medium security prisons are the standard facilities used to house most criminals.
They feature cage-style housing, armed guards, and a much more regimented daily
routine than minimum security.

High security prisons are reserved for the most violent and dangerous offenders.
These prisons include far more guards than both minimum and medium security, and
very little freedom. Each person confined to such a prison is considered to be a high-
risk individual.

Psychiatric
Law-breakers who are deemed to be mentally unfit are sent to psychiatric prisons that
are designed with resemblances to hospitals. Once there, the inmates, or patients,
receive psychiatric help for their mental disorders. As with any prison that pursues
methods of rehabilitation, psychiatric prisons are intended to try and help people as
opposed to just confining them as a means of punishment.
Military Every branch of military has its own prison facilities that are used specifically
for military personnel who have broken laws that affect national security, or to house
prisoners of war. The treatment of these prisoners has been a subject of much debate
in recent times, and the definition of torture for enemy combatants has become a
controversial and often discussed topic.

Federal v State
Federal prisons are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a
subsidiary of the Department of Justice. If the crime the prisoner committed is federal,
they will likely end up in federal prison. The exception is violent crimes, which are
usually dealt with by state prisons. The federal prison system was started with the Three
Prisons Act of 1891. The law created the first three federal prisons at Leavenworth,
Kansas, Atlanta, Georgia, and McNeil Island, Washington. State prisons are more
numerous than federal prisons. As incarceration became the standard form of
punishment in the US, states began creating their own similar but unique prison
systems. Each state determines how its correctional system will function.

The main difference besides offence between state and federal prison is the amount
time served of a sentence. Federal prisons prohibit parole, so the amount of time served
is significantly higher than the average time served in a state prison.

Jail v Prison
Jail is a locally-operated, short term facility where as prison is a state or federally
operated, long-term facility. Jails are mainly used for detaining inmates awaiting trial or
sentencing. They can also house inmates who have been sentenced for less than a
year. This will vary depending on the state. Prisons are long term facilities used after
sentencing, where felons and inmates are housed for more than a year. These
sentencing guidelines may vary by state. In six states there is an integrated corrections
system of jails and prisons.

JAIL AND PRISONS COMPARISON

Jail is a place to hold those who are awaiting trial or are initially arrested for a supposed
crime. Jail is place at the county level to hold those awaiting to go to state or federal
prisons, those being transferred from one jail to the next, those that have been found
guilty of a crime and have a sentence usually of a year or less, and those who have
violated parole or probation. Which at its roots like stated previously was what it was
mainly used for. Jail is a place, a tool used to make those who break the law pay back
society by taking their freedom away, stripping them of their everyday rights and forcing
them into a place that normally will make a person not want to break the law again. A
way of publicly shaming them as you will but behind bars and concert unlike the old
days in the time square.

“The first jails were created in England. The first gaol, as jails were then called, was
ordered built by King Henry II in 1166.” (University of Phoenix, na) The early jails in the
first colonies followed much the similar route as those in England, except for in the
colonies they would usually hold up to thirty people in one large room till they went to
trail. Those found guilty would usually be fined and those too poor to pay would work off
their debt. By the end of the nineteenth century most states had erected jails to hold and
house people awaiting trails or doing sentences less then or up to a year. State prisons
hold offenders who don’t violet late federal law but are sentenced to more than a year.
Federal prisons are usually reserved for those who violet federal law. County jails can
also hold people awaiting to be transferred to either a state or federal prisons.

A comparison of the similarities and differences between security levels in jails,

state prisons, and federal prisons

The similarities in security levels between the different jails and prison across the nation
are pretty clear once you look at. At first most new prisoners are held in a holding area
till they are reviewed for crime and history. This is to see where the individual fits best at
within the jail or prison. After that the prisoner is assigned to either a low risk level wing,
medium level, or high risk. High risk usually involves 24hr supervision, constant lock
down and individual quarters. The low risk is usually given more freedom in that they
are confined in a cell with another person and are in general population. This is normal
from the county level to the federal level within the corrections field. All corrections also
have lock down procedures in place for out-of-control inmates, they all securities levels
when it comes time to let the inmates out for rec time, as well as chow time. All prisons
and jails also utilize daily inspections and roll calls to account for all inmates.
Because prisons are designed for long-term incarceration, they are better developed for
the living needs of their populations. Jails, on the other hand, tend to have more
transient populations and less well-developed facilities. As a result, many inmates prefer
their stays in prison given the more regular life, the greater availability of programs, and
better facilities. Indeed, many repeat offenders will ask for prison time rather than time
in jail followed by probation if given the option. Some inmates complain that jail, given
its constant flow of people that can often interfere with an inmate's ability to sleep, eat
on a regular schedule, or participate in exercise. Some jails also suffer from budget
shortages that lead to lower quality or inadequate food. these issues often lead to
claims of violations of the inmate's right against cruel and unusual punishment.
However, such claims are rarely, if ever, successful.