Introduction
The number of legal cases involving young adult offenders aged between 18 to 25 years has been on the rise (Harvey 6). Although the journey of these young male offenders to adulthood is inseparable from their earlier experiences, it is a paramount stage in their lives with its vital avenue of influence. If this group of youth is helped to move successfully to adulthood, it is most likely to desist from committing further offenses and become better people in their communities. Young male offenders need to be incarcerated in an environment that will support their positive social, physical, and psychological development.
Importance of Separate Confinement
When young male adults are imprisoned together with adult prisoners, they may not achieve the desired behavioral change. In adult prisons, the young prisoners face various challenges that sometimes make their behaviors even worse. While some of them learn more tactics of conducting crimes from the older inmates, others go through mistreatments such as sexual assault and physical torture, among other challenges (Harvey 131). In prisons confining young adults only, there are specific policies, services, and educational/therapeutic programs that mainly address specific developmental maturity and needs of the youth. Besides, the young offenders have many incentives for encouraging them to change their deviant behavior. The institutions foster autonomy, socially approved values, and norms mentoring and eventually facilitating behavioral changes among the young inmates as well as offering them a conducive environment for positive development (Kolivoski and Shook 1247). The young male offenders are also taught how to counter their negative self-images. Prisons confining adults and young inmates together may lack these learning opportunities for the young offenders.
Long-Term Positive Effects of the Incarceration
Prisons providing special confinement for young adults use the concept of ‘assisted resistance in their rehabilitative efforts to promote the impetus of their inmates specifically to stop them from further committing offenses (Esperian 316). To achieve this drive, the facilities offer a positive, structured environment for young adults to have positive identities and become resilient in their journey towards leading law-abiding lives. The institutions facilitate talks to the young prisoners by role models who are trusted by various communities and detention centers for motivational support. The courses offered to the young inmates by prisons in special programs help in reducing recidivism in future years. The programs assist them in their personal growth and development.
The knowledge and skills derived from prison education programs help young male prisoners to have higher chances of survival when they are out of confinement since they feel more hopeful and determined to overcome life challenges. The programs also assist the inmates in identifying the reasons that led them to commit crimes and guide them on how to overcome such criminal behavior. Therefore, these programs are paramount in reducing future recidivism among young adults and increasing their chances of a successful re-entry into society upon their discharge from imprisonment (Esperian 328). The building and management of prisons cost huge sums of public money. For this reason, a significant reduction in the number of young adult inmates leads to a remarkable decrease in the overall justice system costs to taxpayers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in a natural maturing process of young male offenders, effective rehabilitative programs together with a positive, structured environment are some of the essentials of their behavior change. To the young inmates, such provisions act as platforms for turning a leaf and becoming acceptable members of the society.
Works Cited
Esperian, John. “The Effect of Prison Education Programs on Recidivism.” Journal of Correctional Education, vol. 1, no. 1, 2010, pp. 316-334.
Harvey, Joel. Young Men in Prison. Routledge, 2012.
Kolivoski, Karen, and Jeffrey Shook. “Incarcerating Juveniles in Adult Prisons Examining the Relationship between Age and Prison Behavior in Transferred Juveniles.” Criminal Justice and Behavior, vol. 43, no. 9, 2016, pp. 1242-1259.