Confinement in a jail or prison; imprisonment.

Police officers and other law enforcement officers are authorized by federal, state, and local lawmakers to arrest and confine persons suspected of crimes. The judicial system is authorized to confine persons convicted of crimes. This confinement, whether before or after a criminal conviction, is called incarceration. Juveniles and adults alike are subject to incarceration.

A jail is a facility designed to confine persons after arrest and before trial, or for a short period upon conviction for a lesser offense. A prison is built to house persons for longer periods of time following conviction for a more serious offense. Jails also may be called detention centers, and prisons may be called correctional facilities or penitentiaries. Regardless of their name, their function is generally the same: to lock up accused and convicted criminals.

The pretrial detention of accused...