Michelle Elsenbary
Intro to Corrections
North Carolina Central University
Jails and prisons are used in the correctional system as a way to manage people who have acted against the law. Their functions are to deter individuals from crime, punish the individuals who commit crimes and rehabilitate individuals, so that they may be able to live productive lives after they have served their sentence. There are misconceptions about the operations of jails and prisons. Some people use the terms "jails and prisons" in an incorrect way. Both have a degree of differences that should be understood among our society. A simple definition of jail from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful …show more content…
Jails offer inmates programs like work release, boot camps, educational, substance abuse or vocational programs.
These programs are beneficial to the inmates because it allows them to better themselves and use what they learned to live better lives after they are released. Prisons are a much more severe facility than jails are and involve a much longer sentencing term than jails do . The definition of prison from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: a state of confinement or captivity. Prisons are run by state government or the Federal Bureau of
Prisons and manage individuals that commit more serious crimes including any type of felony.
Individuals that are sentenced to prison usually are aware that they are going to prison. They have spent time in jail first and have been convicted of a crime, so now they are being sent to prison. Prisons also offer different programs like jails offer but it depends on the degree of custody that the inmate is under. There are minimum, medium or maximum security levels that inmates are under. Programs are usually available for inmates with minimum or medium