Jails, prisons, and community corrections in the criminal justice system

Jails and Prisons

The general characteristics of prisons and jails are almost the same though they are considered as different entities in the criminal justice system. The main difference them is that whereas a prison holds convicted offenders who have sentences that are mostly beyond one year, offenders are locked in a jail either holding awaiting transportation to prison units or serving short-term sentences usually ranging from a few days to a year (Gaines and Miller, 2006). With reference to the United States of America criminal justice system the other difference is that prisons are under the jurisdiction of either federal or state while jails are controlled and used by local jurisdictions such as counties and cities. Due to the period of time that offenders take and the life they live in prisons, prisons have been considered to be total institutions. "A total institution can be defined as a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situated individuals cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period of time together lead an enclosed formally administered round of life" (Davies, 1989). This definition fits the exact set up and conditions in a prison which makes prisons to qualify as total institutions.

The need to separate different offenders became necessary leading to categorization of prisons into four main levels namely; minimum security, low security, medium security, and high security. These levels are based on the security needs of the offenders with minimum security having the lowest amount of security and high security having the highest. Minimum security institutions are characterized by relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and limited or no perimeter fencing. The low security institutions have a higher staff-to-inmate ratio and double-fenced perimeters with the housing being cubicles or dormitories. They also employ strong work and program components. The perimeters of medium security institutions are strengthened, mostly made up of double fences with electronic detection systems, and the housing is cell-type. The staff-to-inmate ratio is higher than that of low security and the internal controls are greater. The last level which is also controversial due to its harsh conditions is the high security prison. Its perimeter is highly secure with the inmates being closely controlled. It has the highest staff-to-inmate ratio and the housing is multiple- and single-occupant cells (Gaines and Miller, 2006).

The criminal justice system is made up of three main parts namely the law enforcement, adjudication, and corrections. Jails fall under corrections and its main function in the criminal justice system is that of being the intake center for the whole criminal justice system; it therefore directly serves the law enforcement unit and the adjudication unit. Jails are very important because they house the largest percentage of offenders i.e. those convicted for short terms and those awaiting to move to prisons. In order to check the population of jails and prisons and to avoid sending offenders to prison or jail inappropriately a number of community-based corrections programs have been developed. Community-based corrections programs have the objective of enabling individuals who are found guilty of offences to achieve the behavioral responsibility which is socially required while remaining within the community and family with due considerations to the restorative justice principles (Alarid et al., 2008). Another concept which is related to jails and prisons is parole which has a supervisory role in the reintegration of offenders into the community which is usually for about six months prior to the end of the total sentence. Offenders under parole are usually considered to be under sentence and parole is usually applicable when the sentence period is more than one year (Sacks and Logan, 1980).