How is it like to be in jail? not prison or juvenile?

Question

experienced ones, do you know?
don't really want rumors just facts
thanks

Answer 1

I work as a radio operator ( 911) for my local police department and also work in the jail. Spending the night or however long you must stay is not at all fun or meant to be. We have 5 cells with places for 4 subjects each. The bunks are iron and fashioned to the wall with mats to lay on. You are issued 1 washcloth, 1 blanket, and toiltries. The inmates are fed 3 meals per day from a local restaurant and the inmates families are allowed to bring in instant drinks for them to have in the cell with them. There is a toilet and sink in each cell and cameras which record constantly. No smoking or television but can listen to the radio 24 hours , if want. A pay phone sits beside each cell and collect calls only are allowed.
It is not a pleasant place at all but we that work there try to make it as tolerable as possible.
It is Jail, nothing good!!

Answer 2

Well if your first time, very scary. They treat you like an animal most of them do anyway. Don't get me wrong there are a few decent officers out there. They are mainly like the Seniors or Sergeants. If you are not a regular there and you just messed up for the first time then your really about to experience and see things that you never would have thought about and never want to see again. From the beginning of the arrest to the time of the release you will have felt you have been there forever and time never will have gone slower for you in your life. The food is pretty bad but the worst thing to deal with is have to live and try to get along with anywhere up to 100+ inmate from all different walks of life peacefully. It's not going to happen. No matter how much you try to stay to yourself and not bother anyone someone will try and cause problems with you for something. If you hav'nt been there take from someone who has your not missing anything.

Answer 3

Jail is not somewhere anyone wants to be. I am a 21 year old FEMALE who spent 6 months in county jail. It really makes you think about your life and what you are going to do with the rest of it. You are told when to eat and sleep and when you can leave your cell. You get about 2 showers a week if your good. Just think about your choices because seeing my mom and son on the other side of a piece of glass for a half hour once a week wasnt how I planned my life.

Answer 4

i spent 24 hours in jail once. it was horrible. i'm sure most people have heard of joe arpiao (sp?) the phoenix sheriff and how harsh his jail are. well i can say in all honesty it's not the place to be and i have never gone back. the food was so scary that i gave it away, one lady used the toilet paper roll for her pillow and wouldn't share with anyone else but me (she called me college and felt that it was unfair that i got arrested so she felt sorry for me because i had been arrested for fighting back against an abusive boyfriend), there was one girl who had her period and the guards wouldn't give her any tampons or pads, it was freezing, and i got to see close up the guards throw a guy in a restraint chair, throw a towel over his face while his hands were handcuffed behind the chair and then use a stun gun on him until he vomited. there were only two sleeping racks in there and like 30 women so i ended up sleeping on a pee covered floor under a bench using my doc martins as a pillow. lovely experience.

Answer 5

I was arrested once, and taken to jail for a night for assault. I actually had the nicest police who were working IN the jail when I got there. They booked me and processed me through and then let me make a million phone calls ..I think I called everyone I knew that night to come get me out, but my bail amount was high and even if someone called a bail-bondsman and just paid 10% of the total amount of my bail...it still was high...so after the 1 million & 1 phone call I had finished making they took me to my cell & gave me a blanket cause it was cold in there. I was by myself & at some point fell asleep on the bench in my cell only to wake up and find another person was sharing the jail cell I was in....some older lady who appeared to have had experience being arrested and in jail over time throughout her life. When I woke up .... I asked the jail guard who was there to see if I could use the phone ,and sure enough she walked right over without hesitation to open my cell and let me walk out to use the phone. ( she was really nice !! ) then after using the phone she attempted to give me some " jail food " which looked completely disgusting and wrong, so I passed & the older lady in my cell took it instead. ( Yuck!!) The jail guard then asked me if I wanted something else, like a bagel or donut they had gotten for themselves earlier in the morning?? I didnt think I had options for breakfeast in jail but she was giving me options, so I took her up on it & she also gave me some juice to drink...if you can believe that.
I felt as if I were being treated too nice, because I always had this impression of jail as not an accomodating place to your personal needs but this jail was ....thankfully, full of really nice, genuine cops/guards. At 7 am I was released , and the charges were dropped so I didnt have to face court or any penalty's or fines thereafter.

My experience was unlike any other's I am sure but you never know!!!

Answer 6

you get 3 meals a day, no bills to pay, sleep almost whenever you want, get to go out into what they call "the yard" (once a day if you are lucky) Calif. you get cable TV to watch and a movie with popcorn once a week. IT IS SOOOOOOOOO BORING. Can't even look out the windows bcause they put a frosted film over the outside. And I don't know why, but they keep real cold in there all of the time. This is general population, min. security on the woman's side, in Napa. They wake you up real early in the morning and there Cheerios are grey in color not the grain color you see out of the box.

Answer 7

I spent one night in jail about 20 years ago. It SUCKED. I was only in there for about 8 or 9 hours, but it was enough to make sure I never go back. The worst thing is the sound of the big heavy door slamming shut with you inside. Losing your freedom is the about the worst thing ever (except for dying maybe).

Answer 8

I've never been in jail, but have been a jailer. It's like a whole new world with different rules and all. I have seen people come through who have committed their first crime. They were okay people till they hit the jail. Totally different when they got out. It's a dog eat dog world and it is the most brutal place I have ever seen.

Answer 9

Jail is BAD. Breakfast- small bowl of cereal, banana, orange drink (not juice). Lunch- PBJ sandwich, carrots, orange drink. Dinner- Slop (never know what it is), bread, vegtable, orange drink. Strip searches, yes they check the cavity even if you haven't left your "room". 1 pair of socks, underwear, and t-shirt PER WEEK! Toothbrush is just a brush, no handle. Your bed is on a metal bunk with a matress that is literally 2 inches thick. You get to choose between a pillow and a blanket (pillow is a rolled up blanket).

Answer 10

It sucks. The food is horrible and they screw with the temperature just to make sure you don't get too comfortable. Burning hot one minute and freezing cold the next. Couldn't sleep, couldn't go to the bathroom without an audience. It totally sucked worse than anything I have ever experienced. (and the length of time was less than 12 hours.)