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In the past jails were built for the purpose of punishment and incarceration. People sentenced there by the courts were seen as outcasts and they were expected to repent while serving their sentences. These days different opinions hold sway. Prison design now focuses upon helping the inmates to work towards a better and more productive life once they have served their sentences.

One of the most vexing problems that dogged old style jails is the fact that it is highly undesirable to keep all sentenced criminals together. This has often led to riots and inmates that were sentenced for lesser crimes became part of gangs, learned from hardened convicts and simply became used to a life of crime. Modern facilities strive to keep the various classes of prisoners apart.

Enlightened thinking holds that many people land up in jail because of circumstances, poverty, lack of education and even psychological maladies. Participants at a prison conference regularly argue that the time these people spend incarcerated should be used to correct the situation by means of educational programs, social skill courses and by learning valuable skills that can be used to make a living.

Regardless of the focus on self improvement and rehabilitation, new penitentiaries have to focus on security. One modern trend is to build entirely separate facilities for the various categories of inmate. Dangerous criminals that are deemed unlikely to respond to rehabilitation is held in more secure facilities while those that show promise are incarcerated in more relaxed environments.

While security measures designed to keep inmates in and unauthorized people out, there are many other measures that also need careful consideration. Prison maintenance, for example, and deliveries can potentially cause security breaches and the jail need to cater for these tasks to be done safely. Many jails also have housing facilities for their staff and their families. These compounds also need to be secured.

The days where jails were essential a series of cells and some administrative facilities are long gone. Modern penitentiaries boast extensive sport and fitness facilities, lecture rooms, medical centers and recreation facilities ranging from libraries to games rooms. These facilities all pose security problems and unless the issue is addressed during the planning stage safety issues will become a major issue.

One of the biggest problems experienced by the justice system is the fact that there never seem to be enough incarceration facilities. Where possible, alternative punishments are considered, but in many cases there simply is no other option. Prison design will no doubt be further improved to make better use of space and to operate more efficiently and cost effective.