NCJ Number
132649
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 53 Issue: 6 Dated: (October 1991) Pages: 90-92,94-96
Date Published
1991
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This survey of boot-camp administrators by the University of Maryland in 1991 solicited information on program goals, treatment and rehabilitation, recidivism reduction, impact on prison crowding, and types of offenders.
Abstract
Boot camps typically place participants in housing separate from other offenders and feature military drills, physical training, work, and treatment-oriented activities. Boot-camp administrators were queried on how important 11 listed goals were to their programs. For each goal, officials listed whether it was very important, important, somewhat important, not important, or not a goal. The goals most often stated by administrators to be "very important" were rehabilitation, recidivism reduction, and drug education. Reduction in prison and jail crowding, the development of work skills, and the provision of a safe prison environment were generally considered "important" goals. "Somewhat important" goals were deterrence, education, and drug treatment. Goals most often stated to be "not important" or "not a goal" included punishment and vocational education. Regarding the goal of recidivism reduction, no State has yet reported a statistically significant difference in recidivism due to boot camp participation compared to that of similar offenders serving other sentence types. The impact of boot camps on prison and jail crowding is limited because of the low number of offenders in the programs, restrictive eligibility, and high failure or drop out rates. Participants are most often young first offenders who have committed nonviolent felonies. 4 references