Types of Prisons

Every prison is designed to house people who have broken the law and to remove them from free society. The inmates are locked away for a set period of time and have very limited freedoms during their incarceration. While every prison serves the same basic purpose, there are many different types of prisons.

Juvenile
Any person who is under the age of 18 is considered to be a juvenile. Anyone who is not of a legal age is never locked up in a general prison with adults. They are instead placed in a facility that is designed exclusively for juveniles.

Minimum, Medium, and High Security

Minimum security prisons are usually reserved for white collar criminals who have committed acts such as embezzlement or fraud. Although these are serious crimes, they are non-violent in nature and therefore the perpetrators are not considered to be a risk for violence. These law-breakers are sent to facilities that offer a dormitory-type living environment, fewer guards, and more personal freedoms.

Medium security prisons are the standard facilities used to house most criminals. They feature cage-style housing, armed guards, and a much more regimented daily routine than minimum security.

High security prisons are reserved for the most violent and dangerous offenders. These prisons include far more guards than both minimum and medium security, and very few personal freedoms. Each person confined to such a prison is considered to be a high-risk individual.

Psychiatric
Law-breakers who are deemed to be mentally unfit are sent to psychiatric prisons that are designed to be more like hospitals. Once there, the inmates, or patients, will receive psychiatric help for the mental disorders they display. As with any prison that pursues methods of rehabilitation, psychiatric prisons are intended to try and help people as opposed to just confining them as a means of punishment.

Military
Every branch of military has their own prison facilities that are used specifically for military personnel who have broken laws that affect national security, or to house prisoners of war. The treatment of these prisoners has been a subject of much debate in recent times, and the definition of torture for enemy combatants has become a controversial and often discussed topic.

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