The state of Connecticut plans to open a correctional facility in 2017 specifically designed for men of the ages of 18 to 25. The prison will serve the purpose of reintegrating inmates into society by curbing their behavioral development, with a staff trained to deal with this age group.
This decision was made upon research showing that the brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Governor Daniel P. Malloy’s chief criminal justice advisor, Michael Lawlor, emphasized the importance of rehabilitating this younger age group.
"If you get it right, they're much less likely to re-offend down the road," Lawlor told the Associated Press. "If you get it right, you get really good outcomes.''
Many younger people feel the same way.“It’s important to impact the minds of criminals at a younger age so that they won’t commit crimes in the future. Doing this will decrease crime rates and probably improve the prison system we have today,” Newtown High School senior Mimi Hawke said.
The prison is being based off of the German model in which people who are arrested at the age of 21 are still seen presumptively as juveniles.
"People understand the concept that you can't teach an old dog new tricks,'' Lawlor said. "You've got more to work with with a younger mind. If you're amenable to treatment, let's match you up.''
Many people also feel as though it’s simply unfair to place younger offenders with older ones in jail, as many older offenders are responsible for crimes of greater magnitude. "Having a 21-year-old kid hanging around with a career criminal, bank robber and murderer probably doesn't make a lot of sense,” Lawlor said.
Lawlor isn’t alone. Many would agree with him, especially considering the amount of violence that occurs among inmates in US prisons.
“[Younger inmates] Being in a facility with older inmates could be intimidating and dangerous,” Newtown High School junior Will Gottschalk said.
Some believe that jail time is not even the answer in many cases. This can be said especially for drug offenses.
“The problem with the current system is that it often handles smaller offenses by minors with jail time, when what they really need is to be reintegrated into society in an appropriate way,” Hawke said. “Let them do community service or work or something so that they can do something more productive and stop doing things like stealing or using cocaine.”
The state of Connecticut is taking a close look at a behavior-modification curriculum that the Department of Children and Families uses with youthful offenders and trying to determine what aspects of it will work in jail. Officials are hopeful that many methods found in the curriculum will be able to be transferred over to a prison setting and produce the same effects as it would in others.
In addition to the male prison, a female unit for the same age group will open in New York. It is also planned to open in 2017.
Image Courtesy of hdrinc.com