A county jail is a place of detention for people awaiting trial, or for those who have been convicted of a misdemeanor and are serving a sentence of less than one year. County jails are run by individual counties, and are operated and overseen by jailers . County jails are, in a sense, mini prisons. They have different wings for certain types of offenders, and have work programs for inmates that demonstrate good behavior. Jails are not any less dangerous of a place than a state prison . Inmates held at jails can make weapons out of almost anything, requiring that the jailers be alert and cautious at all times. County jails do not house convicted inmates serving time for felony crimes. County jails also do not carry out executions. However, the Cook County Jail in Illinois did at one time have an electric chair. Unlike most state prisons, a jail has wings to hold both men and women in the same facility. Some jails house inmates from other counties when issues of overcrowding arise.

See also

• Criminal Justice
• Prison
• Misdemeanor
• Felony