NCJ Number
140197
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 144-150
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
In shock incarceration, an outgrowth of shock probation pioneered in Ohio in 1964, program participants receive an extensively structured imprisonment for 6 weeks to 6 months in a boot camp emphasizing military drills, rigorous physical exercise, and work.
Abstract
Some shock incarceration programs have rehabilitation components, including remedial education, while others believe that military discipline itself is a form of rehabilitation. Most shock incarceration programs, with or without a remedial education component, report lower recidivism for program graduates compared to control groups. This conclusion is based on a study of four programs with remedial education (New York, Oklahoma, Michigan, and South Carolina) and four programs without remedial education (Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia). Nonetheless, shock incarceration programs that have been successful in helping inmates obtain a high school education certificate are particularly useful to inmates after release. Boot camps can also achieve considerable cost savings and reduce prison overcrowding. The author concludes that boot camps should continue to be an option among various sentencing alternatives, such as electronic monitoring, intensive supervision, community service, and parole. 45 references