NCJ Number
165596
Date Published
1996
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Since their beginning in Oklahoma and Georgia in adult prisons in 1983, more than 32 States, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 10 local jurisdictions, and an increasing number of juvenile detention centers have opened correctional boot camps.
Abstract
Originally, boot camp programs were distinguished from other correctional programs by their emphasis on physical labor, exercise, and a military atmosphere. More recently, boot camps also emphasize rehabilitation, aftercare, and work skills. A survey of 37 juvenile boot camps indicates the typical juvenile in these camps is a nonviolent male between 14 and 18 years of age. While almost all boot camps have a military atmosphere and include physical labor, educational programs are important. Boot camps report high graduation rates, and boot camp graduates often participate in aftercare programs with varying supervision levels. Research on boot camps has shown very little negative impact of the programs, but few studies of juvenile boot camps have been conducted. Boot camps continue to be controversial with regard to the military atmosphere, programming, and juvenile development. Data are provided on boot camp operations, capacity, and length of stay; juvenile boot camp enrollees; juvenile boot camp program goals; activities and hours of juvenile boot camps; military involvement in juvenile boot camp programs; dropout, expulsion, and graduation from juvenile boot camp programs; and supervision and aftercare in juvenile boot camps. 33 references and 10 tables