Security and Institutional Management

Youthful Offenders
Quick Facts

Inmates sentenced or classified as youthful offenders are assigned to one of several designated youthful offender facilities.

• The Court may sentence a person as a youthful offender if the crime was committed prior to his or her twenty-first birthday (F.S. 958.04).
• The Department of Corrections may classify an inmate as a youthful offender if he or she is 24 years old or under, with a sentence of 10 years or less. Vulnerable inmates who are 19 or under with a sentence of more than 10 years may also be classified as youthful offenders, if their safety would be jeopardized in an adult institution.
• During FY 95-96, 50 inmates were at some point classified in youthful offender status for protective reasons.
• Capital or life felons may not be classified or sentenced as youthful offenders.
• Youthful offenders who are ages 14-18 must be separated from youthful offenders ages 19-24.