A prison,[a] also known as a jail,[b] gaol (dated,[c] British and South African; historically used in Canada and Australia), penitentiary (North American English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US),[d] correction center, correctional facility, lock-up,[e] hoosegow or remand center, is a facility in which convicted criminals are confined involuntarily (against their will) and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state as punishment for various crimes. Authorities most commonly use prisons within a criminal-justice system: people charged with crimes may be imprisoned until their trial; those who have pled or been found guilty of crimes at trial may be sentenced to a specified period of imprisonment.
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