A total of 739 youths are currently serving time in prison, out of the total 1,654 inmates nationwide.
Director of Rehabilitation, Education, and Training, Superintendent Isireli Dausiga, confirmed to fijivillage News that this youth category covers those aged 18 to 35 years.
Dausiga says that among the youth group, most offences involve drug-related crimes and grab-and-run incidents.
He stresses that the 739 youths in prison represent a significant concern, noting that many of them should be in school or university instead.
Dausiga adds that the middle-aged group, aged 36 to 50, accounts for 601 inmates in the total prison population.
He says the elderly age group, between 61 and 85 years, consists of 129 inmates.
Dausiga adds inmates within the older group are mostly serving sentences for serious crimes such as rape, money laundering, and murder.He also highlighted that the Fiji Corrections Service has observed a worrying trend where children as young as 13 are becoming increasingly bold in committing crimes that lead to imprisonment, based on the statistics they have gathered.
Dausiga further revealed that, by ethnic breakdown, 1,212 inmates are iTaukei, while Indo-Fijians account for 377 inmates.
There are also 13 Rotuman inmates and 9 Rabi islanders currently serving sentences. Dausiga is urging parents to discipline their children at home, emphasizing that the home is the best school.
