‘Goldies’, ‘Birdies’ and ‘Oldies’

Abstract

Within the debate on the transitional age processes of youth in contemporary societies, this chapter analyses the profiles of young adults placed in Portuguese prisons. A unique portrait is drawn based on the existing statistical data from the prison services. Through cluster analysis, this population was classified into three groups. Findings emphasise different types of crime profiles in relation to the sociodemographic characteristics of the young people concerned (age, gender, educational background, nationality and place of residence). Although the Portuguese jurisdiction has established a special criminal law regime setting up distinct specialised facilities for young adults, results highlight the fact that most of them, some even at a minor age, are placed in prisons with older adults due to the lack of appropriate penitentiary establishments.