NCJ Number
157014
Date Published
1995
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This is a collection of writings about boot camps (shock incarceration programs).
Abstract
One writer claims that, since there is no compelling evidence that boot camps work better than other rehabilitative programs, States should fund research before investing heavily in them. He suggests that authorities take a closer look at the wilderness facility. As run by Associated Marine Institutes, these camps require violent juvenile offenders to do arduous ranch work; a role-model staff metes out discipline and advice on making better decisions; the juveniles get remedial education and intensive monitoring after they leave the year-long program. A 3-year study of one such camp in Florida showed that 56 percent of the graduates had not been rearrested for any crime at all. Controlled studies in Massachusetts showed that offenders who went through this type of program had lower recidivism rates than boot camp alumni. Most of the writers represented by this collection of articles agree that more research is needed into the successes and shortcomings of boot camps before they could be accepted as the best and most effective method of dealing with violent juvenile offenders. Many critics of boot camps are disturbed especially by the absence of followup support after young offenders leave the programs.