County jail facts for kids

The term "county jail" is used in the United States for jails maintained to hold prisoners in each of the many county divisions of a U.S. state. People will be moved into a county jail from various city jails, or from being handcuffed to building structures after they are arrested. A county jail is often larger, or more secure, than many city jails (depending on the size of the city). Also, a county jail may include many buildings, or various branches, perhaps miles apart from each other.

Typically, each county jail is maintained by a "sheriff's department" run by the current sheriff and his deputy officers. They form a separate group from the city police, or town police departments, in a county.