Boot Camp Program for Offenders: Does the Shoe Fit? (From Drugs, Crime, and Justice: Contemporary Perspectives, P 397-402, 1997, Larry K Gaines and Peter B Kraska, eds. -- See NCJ-165819)

• NCJ Number: 165835
• Author(s): R E S Mathias; J W Mathews
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Waveland Press, Inc.
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC

Annotation

This examination of boot camps indicates that some programs are successful in separating young, nonviolent first offenders from the heterogeneous population of medium- or maximum-security prisons but that boot camps also enlarge the net to include young first offenders who would have been previously considered good candidates for successful supervision on probation.

Abstract

Most descriptions of boot camp programs do not present clear, concise data on inmate selection parameters such as offense type, sentence structure, vocational training, degree of literacy, cultural and ethnic variables, psychometric data, physical health, and emotional stability. In addition, correctional program administrators face a variety of problems in offering services to first offenders who abuse drugs or alcohol. These problems include the broad range of offenders, wide diversity in sociological vectors such as educational and vocational training, and physical and mental health. Boot camp programs that rely on dominance and demeaning requirements run counter to the basic principles of learning and human behavior. The assumption that boot camps represent the best way of changing the behavior of young offenders convicted of drug or alcohol offenses tends to minimize the complexity of social problems and the interplay of individual and environmental factors. The authors conclude that boot camps can be risky and are not for all offenders. 7 references