What Are Jails?

What are jails? We all know about jails and prisons, but a lot of us do not know the difference between the two. I am going to give a brief explanation on what jails do and their main purposes. The people who are in jail are in there for a variety of reasons, one of them being because they are awaiting trial. Another reason is because their offenses do not require for a long- tern sentence. Most jails hold people for up to a year, however it does vary state by state (Margo Schlanger, 42). The people who are in there awaiting trial can be in there for however long it takes the jury to come up with a verdict, which can be more than a year. Due to the right to a speedy trial, most times it takes less than a year. People who are awaiting transfer to prison also are in jail until taken to the certain prison (Margo Schlanger, 42).  Jails and prisons have a lot of similar issues especially when it comes to being overcrowded.

               Jails, more so than prisons, are overcrowded. This is due to the fact that regardless of what crime a person commits, whether it be murder or burglary, they start out in jail. This is also why jails have a constant population turnover, they are more of a temporary holding facility rather than permanent. Who are the people who are in jails, is the real question? According to Jail Crowding: Understanding Jail Population Dynamics, by Mark A Cunniff, the vast majority of people who are in jail are there because they are property and public offenders. In other words, a lot of them are not there for committing heinous or violent crimes. That is contrary to popular belief because most people assume that everybody who is in jail is there because they have done terrible things. Which does not mean that they should receive no type of punishment, but in order to prevent overcrowding maybe it would be smart to not incarcerate them. They should just have to do community service and participate in wellness type programs. It can be pretty difficult to get into jail anyway; most people do not realize that not all arrests lead to jail time (Mark A. Cunniff, 4).

               Most arrests fall under the nonfelony category, these arrests typically do not end in jail booking. Having any warrants will affect whether a person who is arrested ends up in jail or not. Usually, when some has a warrant and gets arrested they end up getting booked into jail. Even if someone gets pulled over for speeding and the officer sees that they person has a warrant, they get taken to jail. However, most people who get arrested and do not have a history of criminal activity usually get let go, and do not even need to post bail, if and when the reason for the arrest was not serious (Mark A. Cunniff, 5-6).

               Sentencing is a huge reason as to why there is overcrowding in jails. Part of the issue is because sometimes sentencing does take time and therefore causing people to be in there for longer than they need to. Another reason is that judges sentences the offenders to meet a certain amount of community service, fines, and other things. When the offenders fail to meet these requirements, they get placed in jail. It is hard to come up with solutions to the overcrowded jail issues without have the offenders seem like they all getting let off easy, or even letting them leave for good behavior can even seem too lenient.

               Being that leaving jail can be fairly easy, depending on the crime, most people just post bail and leave. Bail is usually set pretty high, and most detainees need a bail bondsman to lend them the money. The consequence to not paying the bail bondsman back leads to readmission into jail. However, repeat offenders who have spent time in jail on several occasions, tend to find themselves back in there. With no actual effort to better themselves it is hard to stay out, this is why rehabilitation is crucial. Jails are a complex institution and a lot of people have their opinions on them. I hope that the government is truly doing what they think is best for the good of society. It is really hard when you get so many people with different personalities becoming criminals, and trying to a different approach with every single one them may not be worth their time. Should it be, is the important question?

Sources:

https://www.law.umich.edu/facultyhome/margoschlanger/Documents/Resources/The_Difference_Between_Jails_and_Prisons%20.pdf

http://static.nicic.gov/Library/017209.pdf