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Incarceration and Families But what if someone in your family makes a really big mistake? And what if he or she has to pay for that mistake by spending time in prison? That’s the kind of mistake that is going to have a huge impact on the whole family. UNDERSTANDING THE TERMS People often use the words prison and jail as though they mean the same thing. But actually they are quite different. The United States has more than 3,200 jails and 1,800 prisons. Jails are run by local authorities, such as town or city governments. People who have been arrested and are awaiting trial are held in jail, not in prison. In many places, people who are serving short sentences (usually less than one year) are also held in jail. Prisons, on the other hand, are for people serving longer sentences for more serious crimes. Prisons are run by either state or federal authorities. Whether

An arrest can affect the whole family, not just the person who was arrested.