They lack basic programs andservices. The food is of poor quality. Medical and recreational facilities are also in poorcondition. The staff of a jail is usually underpaid and there are not enough staff membersto cover all the inmates. Overcrowding is also definitely a problem with jails. This iscause because there is now mandatory sentencing for DUI’s, drug use, and spousalassaults. Now on the other side are prisons. Unlike jails, prisons are classified by the levelof security they use. There are three levels of prison security. The first are minimumsecurity prisons. There are no armed guards or walls. The inmates live in dormitories orsmall private rooms. The inmates in these minimum security prison are the mosttrustworthy and have committed the least violent crimes. Next are medium security prisons. There are fences and armed guards unlike theminimum security prisons. Treatment efforts are used to rehabilitate the inmates. Inmatesreceive visitor privileges. Inmates are those that are violent but have some chance ofbeing rehabilitated and returned to society. The third type of prison is a maximum security prison. These prisons are built withhigh walls, multiple fences with cyclone wire, and there are definitely armed guards withguard towers. Security is the main emphasis here because they house the most violent anddangerous criminals. These prisons offer little rehabilitation or education; it must beearned by the prisoners. There are little in any visitors allowed in maximum securityprisons. Some of these prisons lock their inmates in single inmate cells for twenty-threeand a half hours a day. The other half of an hour is used for showering and exercise. The similarity between jails and prisons is that the inmates profiles are rathersimilar. They are young, single, and poorly educated males. Most are minorities. Theyare usually poor and do not have jobs. Most of their crimes dealt with weapon or dru...
