American incarceration takes two distinct forms. People locked up for a short time are typically placed in a local jail, not a State prison. The primary benefits of jails are logistical. Jails are close to the police stations that generate arrests and the courts that process them. For prisoners, jails are nearer to home, family, and friends. There is, however, little to do in jails, since jails are intended for short-term stays. People locked up for longer periods, generally more than a year, are sent to a prison. Prisons are usually larger and more centralized and thus likely to be farther from the scene of the arrest, the sentencing court, and the prisoner’s home and loved ones. Since prisons are intended for longer stays, they have, or at least should have, more programs, like jobs and education.