NCJ Number
153392
Journal
Keepers' Voice Volume: 15 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1994) Pages: 27-31
Date Published
1994
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Inmates at boot camps, including Illinois' Impact Incarceration Program, often have a hard time adjusting to the rigorous schedule and discipline demanded of them.
Abstract
Boot camps, which subject inmates who choose to attend as an alternative to longer prison terms, to grueling physical exercise, manual labor, educational courses, and drug counseling for those who need it, have been touted as the solution to recidivism. There are now more than 50 boot camps in 30 States, operated at the local, State, and Federal levels. But despite widespread political and public support, empirical evidence is showing that boot camp graduates are returning to prison at rates comparable to inmates serving traditional sentences. Nearly one-third of inmates who opt for boot camp drop out and return to complete their sentences, and only about 60 percent of boot camp graduates stay away from crime after they return to their communities. Ways to improve recidivism rates may be to provide more extensive job training and more comprehensive drug treatment follow-up services, but these measures will require money and may be difficult to implement.