Jail and Prison Comparison

This paper will provide a description of a jail's place in corrections and its role throughout history. A summary of the history of state and federal prisons and a comparison of the similarities and differences between security levels in jails will also be included. This paper will also explain some influencing factors of growth in jails, state prisons, and federal prisons.

In the early days jails were used to detain offenders awaiting trial, but during the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, jails were also used to house displaced persons, the poor, and occasionally the mentally ill (Seiter, 2011). Often times a punishment for a crime would consist of a fine and if offenders could not pay the fine they remained detained until they worked a sufficient amount time that would be comparable to the debt they owed. The rooms inside these jails were large and would house up to thirty offenders at one time. It was not uncommon for these jails to operate under poor conditions, such as unsafe and unsanitary living quarters, bad food, and minimal medical care. There were also issues surrounding illness and lack of discipline. Because of these unsafe and poor conditions John Howard, the sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1773 worked with the English House of Commons to create the Penitentiary act of 1779 (Seiter, 2011). Under this act jails had to maintain a secure and sanitary facility. They had to provide proper diets, uniforms, and hygiene for offenders. They also had to agree to the abolition of fees charged to inmates and a reformatory regimenin which inmates were confined in solitary cells but worked in common rooms during the day (Seiter, 2011 ). To ensure these jails remained compliant, they were also required to undergo systematic inspections. By the end of the eighteenth century jails adopted the notion to confine convicted offenders for the purpose of punishment and rehabilitation. Practically every United States city had built and conducted daily operations for this reason (Seiter, 2011).

A jail today can easily be confused with a prison and although they are both utilized for the incarceration of offenders, a jail is much different from a prison. A jail is definedas a locally operated correctional facility that confines a person before or after adjudication (Seiter, 2011). Much like a prison a jail is a 24 hour, seven days a week facility operation that offers security, meals, medical care, and offender programs. Unlike a prison, a jail is typically used to house offenders who will be incarcerated for a term less than or up to a year. For example, offenders pending arraignment, awaiting trial, conviction, sentencing or awaiting transfers to federal, state or, other authorities after a conviction. In some cases an offender may receive a short-term jail sentence for violating a pretrial release, probation or parole. However, offenders can also become incarcerated for other non-criminal reasons, such as