Incarceration: Prison and Inmates
INTRODUCTION
Law enforcement officers are authorized by federal, state, and local lawmakers to arrest and confine persons suspected of crimes. The judicial system is authorized to confine persons convicted of crimes. This confinement, whether before or after a criminal conviction, is called incarceration. Incarceration is one of the main forms of punishment for the commission of illegal offenses. Juveniles and adults alike are subject to incarceration. Incarceration is the detention of a person in a jail or prison. The federal, state, and local governments have facilities to confine people. Individuals awaiting trial, being held pending citations for non-custodial offenses, and those convicted of misdemeanors (crimes which carry a sentence of less than one year), are generally held in jails. These less serious offenses may receive a short term sentence to be served in a local jail or to alternative forms of sanctions, such as community corrections (halfway house or house arrest). There are other facilities for housing offenders. Facilities for holding convicted felons (offenders who commit crimes where the sentence is more than one year) are known as prisons. Prisons operate at different levels of security, ranging from minimum-security prisons (mainly house non-violent offenders) - to Supermax facilities (that house the more dangerous criminals). The motives for incarceration has received much debate as to its effectiveness and fairness. This can be because the police can arrest and temporarily incarcerate a person charged with a minor offense that is punishable by a fine and no incarceration. The procedures leading to incarceration in jail, prison, or community sanctions may vary.
History
According to Peter Spierenburg, a Dutch justice historian, a form of punishment that emerged around the year 1500 was penal bondage, which included all forms of incarceration. Spierenburg defined bondage as “any punishment that puts severe restrictions on the condemned
Law enforcement officers are authorized by federal, state, and local lawmakers to arrest and confine persons suspected of crimes. The judicial system is authorized to confine persons convicted of crimes. This confinement, whether before or after a criminal conviction, is called incarceration. Incarceration is one of the main forms of punishment for the commission of illegal offenses. Juveniles and adults alike are subject to incarceration. Incarceration is the detention of a person in a jail or prison. The federal, state, and local governments have facilities to confine people. Individuals awaiting trial, being held pending citations for non-custodial offenses, and those convicted of misdemeanors (crimes which carry a sentence of less than one year), are generally held in jails. These less serious offenses may receive a short term sentence to be served in a local jail or to alternative forms of sanctions, such as community corrections (halfway house or house arrest). There are other facilities for housing offenders. Facilities for holding convicted felons (offenders who commit crimes where the sentence is more than one year) are known as prisons. Prisons operate at different levels of security, ranging from minimum-security prisons (mainly house non-violent offenders) - to Supermax facilities (that house the more dangerous criminals). The motives for incarceration has received much debate as to its effectiveness and fairness. This can be because the police can arrest and temporarily incarcerate a person charged with a minor offense that is punishable by a fine and no incarceration. The procedures leading to incarceration in jail, prison, or community sanctions may vary.
History
According to Peter Spierenburg, a Dutch justice historian, a form of punishment that emerged around the year 1500 was penal bondage, which included all forms of incarceration. Spierenburg defined bondage as “any punishment that puts severe restrictions on the condemned
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