Crime is a man-made concept. Crime and its relation to various socio-demographic factors has been subject of debate since time immemorial. Crime is wide spread, diverse in nature and increasing in frequency. The rate of crime is steadily increasing day by day all over the world, India being no exception.Crime and its relation to various socio demographic and economic factors determine the nature of crime. In the age old times punishment was harsh and cruel; the punishments were exiling, enslaving, torturing, mutilating, and execution. The jails, lockups, and detention centres of various kinds have been in existence for thousands of years. But, only 200 years ago these places were used for detention for offenders. Various articles and studies had been reviewed in this study to gain the knowledge about the general health and mental health about the prisoners. The mental and general health problems among the inmates were highly prevalent when compared to general population.