Jails and Prisons Essay Example for Free

Jails and Prisons Essay The four types of prisons are women’s, maximum, medium, and low security. Women’s prisons in our country are very different in some aspects as the male’s prisons. Women have greater needs than men do. They have to adjust to their needs, whether it is pregnancy, or the emotional needs of the woman. Maximum Security prison is a massive building with large inmate population. They offer tight security, high fences, thick walls, and secure cells. They are very closely monitored concerning every moment they are incarcerated there. (Schmalleger, 2011)Medium security prisons are permitted more freedom generally than the maximum security prisoners. They receive more privileges such as they can go to the prison yard, exercise room, and the library. They still strict security but they have more freedom. (Schmalleger, 2011) Minimum security prisons offer a number of programs for the prisoners. They offer services to help rehabilitate the prisoners. The primary force behind the minimum security is the prisoners’ own restraint. They are there because of their behavior and they have the choice to stay there and do well or get transferred to another level based on their behavior. (Schmalleger, 2011) These types of prisons are also classified as federal, state, women, and private prison’s. Even though every one of these institutions is different they are all there for the same reason. Prisons are made to house the most violent to the first time offenders. The concept of the institutions is to provide safety to the communities from these offenders. To keep control and keep them housed in a facility to spend out their sentence. (Schmalleger, 2011) Jail plays a very important role in our criminal justice system. Before an inmate gets sentenced to prison, they are often watched in jail to see how they react with others. Based on how they act in jail usually decides what kind of prisoner they will become. Jail is also used in our system for those spending less than a year in jail, to keep down overcrowding of prisons. They house individuals pending arraignment, readmit probation or parole, temporarily houses juveniles, the mentally ill, and bail bond violators. They also hold individuals for the military, they transfer inmates to their designated facility, and they also operate community-based programs. In conclusion all of the prisons and jails in our country work together like a fine oiled machine. They work together to ensure that an inmate gets from one place to another. They also work together to ensure the inmate remains safe and that the public is safe from the offenders.