First, the competent authorities are different.
The competent authorities for detention centers and detention centers are the public security organs;
The competent department of prisons is the Prison Administration Bureau under the Department of Justice (Bureau), and the highest administrative department is the Ministry of Justice.
2. The targets of detention are different.
1. There are two types of detainees in detention centers:
The first is administrative detention. It is mainly used for general violations of the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law", and is a kind of administrative punishment.
The second is criminal detention. It is mainly a temporary compulsory measure taken by the public security organ or the procuratorate against an existing criminal or a major suspect.
2. Detention centers detain criminal suspects who have been arrested or criminally detained in accordance with law after legal documents have been issued.
3. Prisons hold criminals who have been handed over from the detention center to the prison to enforce their sentences, and are judicial places for enforcing the criminal law.
3. The length of detention is different.
1. Detention centers: The maximum period of administrative detention is 15 days, and the period of combined detention must not exceed 20 days; The maximum period of detention in criminal custody is 30 days, and the public security authorities will generally conduct an interrogation within 24 hours of the detention of the suspect, and if the detainee is approved for arrest, the trial will be conducted in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law;
2. Detention center: For criminals sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment, before being handed over for execution, that is, going to prison. If the remaining sentence is less than 3 months, the detention center may serve the sentence on their behalf without going to prison;
3. Prisons: In accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law, convicts who have been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment shall be sentenced to execution in prison.
Fourth, the legal basis is different.
1. The legal basis of the detention center is the Criminal Procedure Law and the Law on Public Security Administration Punishments;
2. The legal basis for detention centers is the Criminal Procedure Law and the Detention Center Regulations;
3. The legal basis of prisons is the Criminal Code and the Prison Law.
All in all, after the public security organs file a case for investigation, citizens who only violate the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law" will be directly sent to the detention center in the jurisdiction for administrative detention;
If the Criminal Law is violated and criminal detention is required, the public security organs will send the suspect to a detention center for criminal detention after the summons is completed; After the preliminary investigation of the case is clear, an application is made to the procuratorate for arrest, and after the procuratorate has passed the review, the arrest document for the detainee is issued, and the case is returned to the public security organ for further investigation, and after the investigation is completed, it is transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution, and then transferred to the court for trial, during which the criminal suspect has been detained in the detention center;
After the criminal suspect waits for the outcome of the trial in the detention center, he or she is sent to a prison under the jurisdiction of the judiciary to serve his sentence if he meets the requirements.