A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of military offenses. There are two types: penal and confinement-oriented, where captured enemy combatants are confined for military reasons until hostilities cease. Most militaries have some sort of military police unit operating at the divisional level or below to perform many of the same functions as civilian police, from traffic-control to the arrest of violent offenders and the supervision of detainees and prisoners of war.

Australia

The Australian Defence Force states it has no prisons. Instead they have a single facility, the Defence Force Correctional Establishment, which aims to rehabilitate members who have been sentenced to detention for breaching military regulations or law; employees of the establishment are considered "instructors" rather than guards. Military personnel may be sent there for between 14 days' to two years' rehabilitation before returning to active duty; the average sentence is about 23 days. In addition, there are 15 detention centres located within military bases across Australia.

Canada

The Canadian Forces have one military prison, the Canadian Forces Service Prison and Detention Barracks (CFSPDB) (colloquially known as Club Ed), located at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton. Canadian Forces personnel who are convicted by military courts and receive a sentence of 14 days or more are incarcerated at CFSPDB. Men, although in the same prison, are kept separate from women. The prison is maintained and controlled by the Canadian Forces Military Police, although NCOs from various branches of the Canadian Forces serve at the prison as staff. Service personnel who are convicted of less serious offences are considered to be in "detention", and undergo a strict military routine aimed at rehabilitation for their return to regular military service, whereas personnel convicted of more serious offences are considered to be in "prison" and upon completion of their sentence they are released from the military. Serious offenders with sentences longer than two years are transferred to the Canadian federal prison system after serving 729 days, to complete their sentence in the civilian prison system, followed by release from the Canadian Forces. Any service personnel serving a sentence of 14 days or less are held in local base Military Police Detachment cells at the various Canadian Forces Bases within Canada.

Israel

The Israeli military prison of Neve Tzedek (also known as Prison 10 or Detention Base 416) is located near Kfar Yona, inside the Camp Gur military complex, and is used for the detention of military personnel who committed crimes during their service. There are also at least two Incarceration facilities run by the Israeli Defence Force, (Etzion Facility, near Gush Etzion and Shomron Facility, in Samaria) used to hold Palestinian prisoners.

Italy

In Italy the only military prison is the Carcere Militare Giudiziario located at the "Ezio Andolfato" barracks in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, part of the Organizzazione Penitenziaria Militare. It is tasked with the detention of all military personnel under custody of the Military Justice Authority, either waiting for trial or serving a Reclusione Militare ("Military detention") term, and of personnel of the civilian police forces under custody of the ordinary civilian justice that opt for the detention in the military prison instead of a civilian one

New Zealand

The only military prison in New Zealand is the Services Corrective Establishment (SCE) at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch. Prior to 1995, the SCE was based at Ardmore, Auckland. The prison hosts enlisted personnel who are serving sentences with a maximum of two years. Commissioned officers and enlisted personnel sentenced to a prison term exceeding two years are sent to civilian prisons. According to lawyer Matthew Hague, the prison's regime consist of a mixture of corrective discipline and rehabilitation.

Spain

The only military prison in Spain is the Establecimiento Penitenciario Militar at Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has one military correctional facility. (It has no establishments that would be considered prisons.) The Military Corrective Training Centre (colloquially known as the Glasshouse after the former military prison in Aldershot), in the town of Colchester, is where non-commissioned servicemen and women who are convicted by military courts and sentenced to more than 28 days, but less than three years, will be incarcerated. Women, although in the same prison, are kept separate from men. The facility is maintained and controlled by the British Army's Military Provost Staff (Adjutant General's Corps). More serious offenders with longer sentences are transferred to HM Prison Service as part of their dishonourable discharge. There are three categories of prisoner:

  • Those from the Royal Navy (RN), Royal Marines (RM), British Army, and the Royal Air Force (RAF) who are to remain in the Services after sentence and will serve their detention in A Company.
  • Those from the RN, RM, British Army and RAF who are to be discharged after their sentence and will serve their detention in D Company.
  • Those held in Military custody awaiting the outcome of an investigation, or awaiting HM Prison or YOI placement.

United States

thumb|[[Naval Consolidated Brig, Miramar in San Diego, California]]

The United States military's equivalent to the county jail, in the sense of "holding area" or "place of brief incarceration for petty crimes" is known colloquially as the guardhouse or stockade by the United States Army and Air Force and brig by naval and marine forces. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and are convicted to confinement via courts-martial. The U.S. Armed Forces currently maintain several regional prisoner-holding facilities in the U.S. In the United States, differential treatment seems to be suggested, but by no means mandated, by the Founding Fathers in the Fifth Amendment to its constitution. In former times, criminals in the naval service were sent to the once-infamous Portsmouth Naval Prison, which was closed in 1974.