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Boot Camps for Young Offenders

NCJ Number
168995
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1997) Pages: 155-171
Author(s)
S A Reid-MacNevin
Date Published
1997
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The literature on boot camps shows that although boot camps may service the public demand for retribution, they do not fulfill the needs of young offenders for successful reintegration into the community.
Abstract
A vast number of boot camp programs model a military-style approach that emphasizes strict discipline and hard labor intended to "shock young men out of crime through a brief, painful period of military-style prison time" (Osler, 1991, p. 34). Boot camps have a multiplicity of objectives that include attempting to reduce prison crowding and recidivism, as well as to rehabilitate offenders while satisfying the public's demand for tougher sanctions. This literature review suggests, however, that the only goal that is demonstrably achieved through the development and implementation of boot camp programs is that such programs are viewed as a politically acceptable alternative in a climate of public pressure to do something about youth crime. The few boot camp programs that have provided positive outcomes for participants were those in which there was an intensive community supervision program following the period of shock incarceration. Given the success of community-based treatment options, even for seriously violent juvenile offenders, it is appropriate to disband boot camps and move toward penal sanctions for juveniles that are targeted specifically to their needs. 62 references