Ecological Factors in Recidivism: A Survival Analysis of Boot Camp Graduates After Three Years

• NCJ Number: 197992
• Journal: Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: 2002 Pages: 63-85
• Author(s): Brent B. Benda; Nancy J. Toombs; Mark Peacock
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 23 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines recidivism among boot camp graduates.

Abstract

Recidivism rates among 480 male graduates, 16- to 40-years-old, of a boot camp in the South were studied. Recidivism was defined as days survived in the community without returning to the Department of Correction (DOC) in a 3-year follow-up study. The study was designed to examine the relative predictability of survival of several sociodemographic variables, personality traits, criminal history factors, personal attributes, and perceptions of the boot camp environment. The study suggests that reconsideration may need to be given to using boot camp for younger offenders with prior juvenile incarcerations that have been influenced by peers engaged in unlawful behavior, and that exhibit aggression, immaturity, autism, or a tendency to distort reality according to one’s desires, and denial of responsibility. It is questionable whether current boot camps are suitable programs for these younger persistent offenders, or if a lengthier and more intense program should be designed. A more invasive intervention needs to address many of the personality traits measured by the Jesness Inventory. The only irrelevant sub-scales to recidivism of the Jesness Inventory are withdrawal, social anxiety, and repression. Hindsight suggests that these latter traits are not typical of first-admissions to the DOC. The personality measures that are relevant to length of survival in the community without reincarceration are immaturity, autism, alienation, aggression, and denial. These are traits characteristic of those that enter crime at an early age in life, are influenced by criminal peers, have limited expectations of future success, and do not perceive benefits from the boot camp experience. The perception of the boot camp program as an expedient avenue for early release is among the strongest predictors of survival in the community without reincarceration. It is impossible to determine whether the various perceptions of boot camp are a result of the program or of personality deficits of recidivists. 4 tables, 62 references