In American English, the terms prison and jail have separate definitions, though this is not always adhered to in casual speech. A prison or penitentiary holds people for longer periods of time, such as many years, and is … See more

Prisons employ people to run and maintain the prison while keeping control of the inmates. Oftentimes, the number of people employed within a prison depends upon factors such as the … See more

Youth detention facilities
Prisons for juveniles are known by a variety of names, including "youth detention facilities", "juvenile detention centers", and … See more

In the United States alone, more than $74 billion per year is spent on prisons, with over 800,000 people employed in the prison industry. As … See more

Ancient and medieval
The use of prisons can be traced back to the rise of the state as a form of social organization.
The Book of Genesis, written six centuries before Christ, contains the story of Joseph who is put in a … See more

Security
Prisons are normally surrounded by fencing, walls, earthworks, geographical features, or other … See more

Some jurisdictions refer to the prison population (total or per-prison) as the prison muster.
In 2021, the World Prison Brief reported that at least 11.5 … See more