What's the difference between jail and prison? I don't get it. nt

[raccoon]

[JJChambers]

1. Easy

Jail is for misdemeanants (crimes punishable by up to one year but not more) and those awaiting trial -- prison is for those convicted of a felony and sentenced to time behind bars exceeding one year.

[Jesus Malverde]

12. It's happened where people get multiple consecutive 1 year terms so

I think I heard of an LA case that was 10 years in county jail.

[Evergreen Emerald]

2. Also

Jail is a city or county facility, prison is a state or federal system.

[Recursion]

3. Roughly, jail = short term, prison = long term. Prison is "worse"

Everyone in prison has been convicted of a serious crime (not necessarily fairly, but the conviction is officially there). Some people in jail have been convicted of less serious crimes; others have not yet been convicted and are being held before trial / until they make bail / etc.

Prisons are run by the states or the Federal government and are generally dedicated installations. Jails are run by the city or county and may share facilities with other installations (eg, in some towns the jail is still a set of cells in the police department or sheriff's office).

Prison officers are generally dedicated corrections officers (that's all they do) who may or may not be deputized (and, increasingly, aren't). Jails are generally staffed by straight "line" law enforcement officers -- this is why privately-run prisons are becoming more common, but to my knowledge there isn't a single privately-run jail in the country. Prisons in general or more safe (things have changed a lot since the 1990s) but as a consequence the restrictions on the inmates are much much higher.

[Jesus Malverde]

13. Prisons generally have more services...

They may have prison industries, educational programs and recreational facilities not available in county jails.

[Recursion]

15. Good point. Also jails often have work release

So that, eg, the guy waiting to make bail on his DUI can still go to work, or whatever.

[Adam051188]

4. I know it's none of my business, sry in advance.

I hate to ask but I'm curious now. What happened?

[raccoon]

6. someone in another thread mentioned jail and prison. Silly me, I always

thought they were the same thing.

It was in this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014722700

[rock]

5. Remember that episode of "The Andy Griffith Show"

In which Barney explains the rules at "the Rock". 1) Obey all rules; 2) Don't write on the walls.
That's a jail; prisons have more rules.

[DesMoinesDem]

7. I don't get why people start threads for simple questions instead of googling it.

They could have their answer in 5 seconds but instead they start a thread and wait for replies. Can someone explain to me why people do that?

[Auntie Bush]

8. Maybe they thought others might enjoy the information but probably

wouldn't have thought of it or looked it up. We're here to discuss...so why not discuss? People who are not interested don't have to look. I found this topic interesting.

[Ptah]

9. .

https://www.google.com/search?q=why+people+start+threads+for+simple+questions+instead+of+googling+it&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US

[DesMoinesDem]

11. It was a rhetorical question.

[Ptah]

14. No, it wasn't.

[FarCenter]

10. They are "detention facilities" and "correctional facilities"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tombs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_Prison