A '''prison''' is a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the [[government]] (either because they have been accused of a crime and they await trial or because they have been convicted of a crime and they are serving a sentence). In the [[United States]], 2.2 million people are incarcerated, and over the course of a year, many millions spend time in prison or jail. Prisons create jobs - over 750,000 men and women work in correctional facilities. Despite correctional methods used in these institutions, 67 percent of former prisoners will be rearrested and 52 percent will be re-incarcerated. <ref>[http://www.prisoncommission.org/ Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons]</ref> The term for this is [[recidivism]], meaning a criminal who has committed a crime, is released, then goes on to commit subsequent crimes. | A '''prison''' is a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the [[government]] (either because they have been accused of a crime and they await trial or because they have been convicted of a crime and they are serving a sentence). In the [[United States]], 2.2 million people are incarcerated, and over the course of a year, many millions spend time in prison or jail. Prisons create jobs - over 750,000 men and women work in correctional facilities. Despite correctional methods used in these institutions, 67 percent of former prisoners will be rearrested and 52 percent will be re-incarcerated. <ref>[http://www.prisoncommission.org/ Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons]</ref> The term for this is [[recidivism]], meaning a criminal who has committed a crime, is released, then goes on to commit subsequent crimes. |