Missed Opportunities: The Experience of Young Adults Incarcerated in Federal Penitentiaries

'The issue of young adult offenders in federal penitentiaries is not unique to Canada. Countries in the European Union and United Kingdom have identified problems and challenges housing youthful offenders with older, more seasoned inmates. Some countries use separate institutions to house the young adult population, even those serving an adult sentence. The Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) has highlighted in previous Annual Reports (2005-06 and 2013-14) that the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) does not provide adapted housing accommodations, programming, services or interventions specific or responsive to young people despite the fact that they are often vulnerable to segregation placements, subject to abuse and intimidation by other inmates, pressured into or recruited by gangs in prison and have poorer overall outcomes'--p. 6.