Comparison between Prisons and Jails - Essay Example

That having been said, the question that one may ask is what are these differences? The purpose of this paper is to compare jails and prisons in the US. Hall (2010) notes that the comparison of jails and prisons should begin at the point of definition. As such, Hall defines a jail as a place for confinement of persons in lawful detention. Prisons, on the other hand, refer to a place where individuals already convicted of the offense are confined. From the definitions, it is apparent that jails are mainly meant to hold offenders pending their transportation to prison units, whereas prisons mainly house already convicted offenders who are serving their terms.

The other difference noted is that jails operate mainly under the local jurisdictions while prisons are administered by the state. It is also notable that jails, unlike prisons are designed for short term periods only. Due to this reason, jails tend to have less social amenities than prisons. Offenders being housed in a jail have access to less amenities such as food, water, and bathrooms, and in a low security jail, these individuals may be allowed to socialize freely in common areas at sometimes during the day.

However, this is highly restricted in prisons depending on the type of prison in which one is held. For instance, in maximum security cells, convicts have no such freedom to socialize freely in a common area since they are considered a threat to others (Beck and Harison, 2005). Findings also show that most jails are designed to house very few numbers of criminals and have relatively lax security in comparison to prisons where security is very tight. However, areas that are prone to violence are always administered under very strict security lines (Hall, 2010).

Two types of jails found in the US are podular/direct supervision jails and the regional jails. Podular/direct supervision jails (New Generation Jails) are a type of jail used mainly to house inmates in pods or units centered on a multipurpose space. This type of jail operates on the principle that, consistent, direct supervision of prisoners can curb negative behaviors. The regional jails, on the other hand, are facilities operated together by two or more jurisdictions, and which is composed of prisoners drawn from those jurisdictions as noted by Christensen (2006).

It is, however, noted that regional jails may sometimes be the only imprisonment facility in a given jurisdiction while, in others, jurisdiction may have its own jail as well as be at liberty to send some inmates to a regional facility. These jails form an integral part of the legal justice system in the US. Report reveals that there are approximately 3,300 jails in the US, which houses more than two million inmates in the country. These jails play an important role in holding offenders as they wait to be transported and brought before courts for trials.

It also ensures that those who are denied bails while still undergoing trial are housed within reach of the administrators of justice. Above all, jails act as correctional facility, which is indispensable for the criminal justice system. Prisons, on the other hand, are administered by the state and have much more extensive amenities since some prisoners may be put under a life sentence behind bars. Prisons also have access areas, church facilities and common areas for socializing and eating as well as educational facilities including classrooms, libraries and laboratories, where inmates can work and study