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Army Model: Boot Camp for Youthful Offenders

NCJ Number
114743
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 50 Issue: 7 Dated: (December 1988) Pages: 98-105
Author(s)
B W Ratliff
Date Published
1988
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Paramilitary correctional training programs, which emphasize military discipline and physical training, primarily for youthful first offenders, show great promise.
Abstract
The U.S. Army Correctional Activity (USACA), located at Fort Riley, Kan., has a basic correctional training program that houses about 600 offenders. USACA was established in 1968 to retrain Army offenders for future active duty. In 1984 the mission changed to that of confining and treating military inmates for release to the community. The new program, Specialized Treatment and Rehabilitation in Army Corrections (STRAC), relies on military discipline, not physical restraints. Inmates are housed in open barracks rather than cells. A program of military discipline and individually designed correctional treatment controls and supports inmates while attempting to reform problem behaviors. STRAC includes programs of vocational training; mental health treatment; basic education; social work services; and intensive group therapy for sex offenders, violent offenders, and drug and alcohol abusers. An evaluation system provides daily data on an inmate's behavior. Questionnaires administered to residents upon release and 6 months after release solicit comments on their STRAC experiences and subsequent adjustment in the community. Based on this evaluation, the program is apparently cost-effective. Similar programs have been developed by State correctional systems. 2 references.