You have heard the names: the “slammer,” the “joint,” the “big house,” the “pokey,” the “clink,” the “cage.” All are slang for jail and prison. However, like in the movie The Interview, jails and prisons are the “same, but different.”
In modern American history, the differences between the two lie primarily in physical locations, operation policies and procedures, and cultures. Since jails were generally made for short-term housing and smaller populations, they often are found in metropolitan areas. Jails house people who have been criminally charged and are awaiting trial and sentencing. Those people, called inmates, are either unable to pay their bonds or are being held “nonbondable” due to the initial appearance judge’s perception of their threat to the community. The bond status set by the judge is based…
