Differences Between Jail And Prison

In the United Sates there is an extremely high incarceration rate among the entire population. The criminal justice facilities are split into two different types of housing. The types of housing include jails and prisons. The main difference between them is the amount of time that the offender spends behind bars and jails are typically ran by local law enforcement while prisons are either ran by the state or the federal government. There are also different levels of security in each facility (“What is the Difference Between Jail and Prison?” (n.d.)). While there is a high incarceration rate among the entire population there is a particularity high rate for minority populations such as African-Americans. Incarceration has been on a rise since
Parole is different from probation. Probation is when you are not sentenced to prison time and parole is when you are released from prison at an earlier date. According to Walker, Spohn, and DeLone (2018) in 2014 the percentage of white released out on parole was 42% and the African-Americans released out on parole was 38%. The percentage is only slightly different, but it still explains to an extent as to why the African-American population is misrepresented. Another reason would be offender reentry. According to Walker, Spohn, and DeLone (2018) in order to be successful after being released back into society the offender must have something to lean on such as employment and nontoxic housing. Someone’s economic status would affect how they renter society because if they go back to the same environment they are likely to wind up back in jail. This idea gives an explanation for the overrepresentation of minorities that tend to come from lower socioeconomic communities (Walker, Spohn, and DeLone,
According to Walker, Spohn, and DeLone (2018) there are four factors that indicate recidivism including rearrests, reconviction, resentence, and revocation of parole. Recidivism is defined as when a person who has been convicted of a crime reoffends (“Recidivism”, 2014). In a study conducted on recidivism it was found that African-Americans are more likely to be rearrested at 80% when compared to whites at 76%. It is stated in the study that more than half of the offenders are more than likely to offend again. Recidivism is related to the offender’s reentry back into society because the more successful their reentry is the less likely they are to reoffend and end back in jail. It is also theorized that if the offender is not visited in prison they will be less willing or want to change making it harder to reenter society positively. It also means that their support system might be lacking and may discourage the offender from wanting to get better (Walker, Spohn, and DeLone,