Delaware's Adult Boot Camp: An Update to the 2001 Delaware Adult Boot Camp Study

• NCJ Number: 226807
• Author(s): Spencer B. Price; John P. O'Connell Jr.
• Date Published: November 2007
• Length: 19 pages
• Corporate Author: Delaware Statistical Analysis Ctr
• Sale Source: Delaware Statistical Analysis Ctr
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded May 5, 2009. Replaces NCJ 222256 (duplicate entry).

Annotation

This report presents an updated review of the Delaware Department of Correction Boot Camp Program.

Abstract

The Delaware Department of Correction Boot Camp Program is operated at the Sussex Correctional Center as a separate program. A 2001 study of the program showed that 6 months after release, 42 percent of the Boot Camp graduates had been rearrested for the commission of a new crime or a violation of probation, and the results after 12 months were no better with 64 percent of the graduates having been rearrested. With these bleak program results, an updated review of the Delaware Department of Correction Boot Camp program was undertaken. The current review has shown optimistic results. Using the data from the 2001 Boot Camp study as a baseline, this review found that the change in management in December 2005 had a significant and beneficial impact on recidivism outcomes. After December 2005, the 6-month recidivism rate took a substantial drop to 28 percent and the 12-month recidivism rate decreased to 55 percent. When examining platoon-by-platoon (10 platoons), the recidivism rates showed an even more positive trend with recidivism rates continuing to decrease as the Boot Camp matured. This review lends credence to the understanding that it is the quality of a given program and not its mere existence that is the crucial factor in reducing recidivism, in rehabilitating offenders, and in turn, in making neighborhoods safer. Tables and charts