New Tier in Australian Prisons for Young People

There has been talk here in Australia about whether or not to add a new tier to the prison system that specifically caters to those aged between 18 and 24 years. this topic has raised many debates because many people believe if you commit a crime you should go to prison and no allowance should be made, but does it make sense to divide the prison system to accommodate that age group.

I have worked with teenagers and inmates alike, when you place a teenager in a prison system we expect them to learn a valuable lesson, but in reality they learn how to be more aggressive, commit bigger and more violent crimes and generally become much worse then when they went in.

Teenagers brain development is slow with the parts of the frontal lobe that control impulse the last part of the brain to develop. The frontal lobe of the brain normally fully develops in boys around age 25 and in girls around age 23. When you have teenagers in high powered cars screaming along the street it is only after they are wrapped around a tree with their mate dying in the passenger seat that they think maybe I shouldn't have done that. The same can be said about the other crimes of youth.

Although a small percentage of teenagers that commit crimes pre meditate their actions the majority are committed on whim. So the question remains although those aged under 18 are placed in juvenile detention should those aged 18 to 24 be placed in adult facilities, or should a new tier be added?

When you place them into adult facilities more often then not they have to find a way to survive so as not to be targeted by predators, to protect themselves they often team up with older much more experienced offenders. when you place the young and vulnerable in a system and expose them to more violence and hardened offenders the results a far from rehabilitation instead the youth become much more volatile, aggressive and are more likely to re offend upon release.
Young people under the age of 25 are more likely to be abused, sexually assaulted, and forced into further criminal activity when placed in adult facilities. they are more likely to attach themselves to an older more experienced inmate in order to receive protection and that protection can come at a very high price.

A tier in the prison system between the Juvenile detention and the Adult facilities would enable those aged 18 to 24 a real chance at rehabilitation and reduce the exposure to violence, a third tier would be able to offer Educational programs, job training and counseling. in effect it would reduce the rates of recidivism dramatically by providing an environment that promotes rehabilitation as opposed to punishment.

Those that work with these young people support the plans to introduce this third tier however it is drawing strong opposition from victims advocacy groups that believe that although the brain development is slow the young people are still able to differentiate between right and wrong, and should be punished accordingly. Although the position of victims and their families can be easily understood the young people still should be given the opportunity to learn from the mistakes in a safe and productive facility without the risk of being preyed upon by those that see them as an easy target.

Hopefully the Australian government will find the benefits in providing the new facilities for young offenders in hopes for a better future for not only them but for society as well.