In Jail, do the Cells have doors or like in films, just several metal bars?
Most prisons have the movie like bars, but there are special cases like solitary confinement that require doors to limit interaction with people.
Usually it depends on how old the jail is. When they build new ones or get remodeled usually they get rid of the bars; it's safer that way.
My county has sliding metal doors with a tray slot and a small window. I guess that helps prevents inmates from passing stuff off to each other
I've seen metal bars like in old Westerns (North Tarrytown, NY holding cell) and sliding electric doors with a safety glass window and a meal tray slot.(The Grasslands Medium security prison also in NY.)
You asked a question on the UK Yahoo! site and in British prisons, the cells have solid metal doors with a small window covered on the outside by a metal flap. So there's some decent privacy but officers can still look in. This is largely done by the night staff who patrol several times during the night and look in to make sure you're still there. (Hint on this one - a common method of bullying is to turn your cell light on from the outside, knowing that you can't turn it off from the inside when it's been turned on from the outside, so you've got to sleep with the light on all night. If this happens to you, put a note under the door asking the night staff to turn it off, and next time they come round, they'll do that.) American prisons and jails can vary - some will be like that, others have just the metal bars.
