NCJ Number
165595
Date Published
1996
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The Sheriff's Office in Broward County, Florida, has a jail boot camp program known as the Military Training Unit (MTU); while incarcerated in the MTU, offenders receive military-style physical training and discipline.
Abstract
Offender schedules, privileges, speech, and total environment are under the control of MTU staff. The MTU also incorporates educational programs, vocational assessments, and other specialized services. The MTU program lasts 90 days and serves both juvenile and adult offenders. Programming consists of general equivalency diploma preparation, military drill and ceremony, physical fitness, drug and alcohol interventions, and religious services. A full-time probation officer assigned to the MTU provides the link to the probation system into which most program participants will be released. The aftercare component of the MTU provides a comprehensive psychosocial assessment of individual needs when they enter the unit, skill building and reintegration groups to help inmates make the transition back into the community on release, a comprehensive aftercare plan to delineate services inmates will need after release, and case management to ensure services are being accessed in the community. Guidelines are offered on establishing boot camp goals and objectives, selecting and training staff, developing written policies and procedures, providing aftercare services, and evaluating program effectiveness. Advantages and disadvantages of jail-based boot camps are examined.