Prisons are locations of confinement in which wrongdoers who are formally executed are confined thus denying them several freedoms. The nature of prisons involves denying inmates several freedoms in a bid to resurrect the actions. Prisons have diverse inmates from different cultures and places who are confined on conviction to run their terms or before as they await trial. There are diverse types of prisons including youth detention facilities which houses juveniles thus separating them from adults. Women prisons were developed to reduce the rate of sexual abuse and offences which according to research is higher than that of men. Women have always been viewed as the weak species thus poisoning them in the same location as men can be highly risky. Military prisons involve another type of prisons which have been in existence since 1796 during the French Revolution. The prisons confine prisoners of war who have committed serious war crimes making the existence risky to the public. There are also political prisons such as The Hague and psychiatric facilities which confines criminals with mental disorders (Stoll, Raphael & Project Muse, 2009).
The major difference between jails and prisons involves the time line within which people are held in the facilities. Arrested people are placed in jails as they await the conviction or as the court proceedings continue. This indicates that the time is limited to a month within which the arrested people should plead guilty or not. After conviction, the criminals are confined in prisons thus the time line in these facilities depends on the time convicted (Stoll, Raphael & Project Muse, 2009). This makes it notable that the facilities availed in jails are maintained poorly compared to that of prisons due to longevity of the stay. People held in jails have undeveloped programs and opportunities compared to those in prisons. Lack of infrastructure and funds to develop such programs have attributed to this result. The administration of jails involves county sheriffs and the local government as they remain close to the public thus can arrest law offenders fast. This is evident in the Benton County Jail maintained by the sheriff department of Benton. On the contrast, the state government controls prisons evident in the case of the State Prison of Arizona.
The prison culture has a manner of differentiating convicts and inmates. The two words are very similar, but convicts are viewed as hard core criminals with who can adapt to the stresses of the prison. On the hand, inmates are viewed as new convicts with limited knowledge of the operations in the inmates. Subcultures in prisons are derived from the difficulties faced by criminals while in confinement (Clark & MacCreaigh, 2006). This makes it necessary for them to develop subcultures to enable them cope with the conditions. Comradeship is one of these subcultures which involve forming close relations among the prisoners to ensure they look out for each other. There is also limited trust to prison staff as they are viewed as the enemies by the inmates. Tis trust develops in as a psychological and misinformed nature making the inmates restrain from any instructions given by the staff.
The criminal justice system provides a manner of resurrecting wrong doers and making them fit within the society. This describes the role of jails in the society. Criminals are convicted of wrongful actions acted upon different people in the society thus such people require to be corrected and confined. Experts indicate that time has a manner of healing all wounds in the society. Confining criminal’s means that they will be no contact with those wronged thus offering them time to heal. Community-based correction programs involve adopting ways of correcting wrongdoer with crimes that are not serious (Clark & MacCreaigh, 2006). This means that such actions are noticed and acted upon without before they escalate and become incriminating deeds. The facilities also offer opportunities for people to utilize their talents in diverse ways reducing the capability of getting involved in incriminating activities.
The probability of violent behaviors occurring in jails and prisons becomes very high with each passing time. These behaviors include sex offences for both men and women including rape and sodomy. The rate of prison murders has also been on the rise as criminals kill each other or commit suicide. Both occurrences have been described as psychological although they can be as a manner of revenge regarding earlier actions. The inmates also suffer from insults and fights from fellow inmates who have increased the rate of group formations to ensure security. Parole and probation involve checking after offenders released from prison before the jail term due to good conductor those given community service. This involves understanding the actions of the offenders and ensuring they are doing not repeated the offences. This is conducted by officers attached to the offenders by the court during the time of release or community service sentencing. The officers then offer a report to the court analyzing the actions of the offenders on whether they are acting illegally and are a danger to the society.
References
Clark, S., & MacCreaigh, E. (2006). Library services to the incarcerated: : applying the public library model in correctional facility libraries. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.
Stoll, M. A., Raphael, S., & Project Muse. (2009). Do prisons make us safer?: The benefits and costs of the prison boom. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
