NCJ Number
188054
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 68 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 40,42-43,44
Editor(s)
Charles E. Higginbotham
Date Published
March 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article provides an overview of the development, implementation, and outcome of the Middle School Suspension Camp in South Carolina, an on-campus suspension program attempting to reduce the risk of suspended students engaging in criminal behavior.
Abstract
School suspensions create enormous problems for law enforcement. When students are removed from the structured environment of school, most have little or no daytime supervision and spend their days roaming the streets. This article focuses on the partnership between the Greer, South Carolina Police Department and Middle School (and two other area middle schools) to reach these at-risk children before they enter the criminal justice system. In 1997, a grant was awarded from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and marked the beginning of an innovative juvenile delinquency prevention program. The Middle School Suspension Camp, also known as Boot Camp, places suspended students in an intensive five-day program operated on school grounds by sworn police officers serving as camp directors. Students are offered one-on-one assistance with schoolwork, instruction on life skills, and physical fitness training. Upon successful completion of the program, the suspension is removed from their school record. The students attend individual and group counseling for the remainder of the school year. In addition camp officers maintain contact with these students during summer vacation. The article reports that since the program’s inception the number of middle school suspensions and juvenile crimes has declined. Teachers also reported a change in their classrooms as disruptive behavior diminished allowing for teachers to teach. The suspension camp is identified as an anti-delinquency program that works.