Often seen as rehabilitative options for at-risk youths and juvenile offenders, so-called juvenile "boot camps" seem very appealing to some parents and juvenile justice officials. Although many people see an obvious appeal to sending delinquent teens to a highly disciplined, military-style environment offered by these boot camp programs, there are significant downsides of which parents should be aware.
Recidivism
One of the key benefits touted by supporters of juvenile boot camp programs is the ability to keep teens out of trouble. These programs appeal to parents and juvenile justice officials who believe that by sending a juvenile to the boot camp, the likelihood the child will conduct further juvenile crimes is reduced.
However, according to a 2008 study, recidivism rates of boot camp attendees are nearly identical to those of juveniles. Essentially, a juvenile offender who attends boot camp is no less likely to go on to commit further crimes.
Another study under the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention not only confirmed this finding, but also showed increased risk amongst some camp graduates. In two of three camps studied, graduates had a higher recidivism rate than those who did not attend the camp, with 72 percent vs. 50 percent and 39 percent vs. 36 percent recidivism rates for graduates vs non-attendees. The third camp showed a 28 percent vs. 31 percent recidivism rate of graduates vs. non-attendees.
Techniques
Juvenile offenders sent to boot camps are brought into an environment where the confrontational style of military training is used to try to alter the teen's behavior. These tactics include the use of intimidation, humiliation and aggressive behavior. Many experts believe such tactics are counterproductive for the majority of youths in the juvenile justice system, according to Mental Health America. These teens often have behavioral, emotional and learning problems, and the tactics used in these boot camps fail to provide valuable behavioral examples or techniques such that teens can use to change their behavior for the better.
Methodology
According to the Office of Justice Programs, six key factors are present in effective juvenile rehabilitation programs: age-appropriate education, community service, substance abuse counseling, mental health care, continuous individualized case management and intensive aftercare services. Juvenile boot camps typically have few, if any, of these factors present.
Boot camps, according to a paper published in the UC Davis Journal of Juvenile Law & Policy written by attorney Jamie E. Muscar, are temporary, short-term programs that fail to provide any of the sustained mental-heath care or ongoing treatment programs that address the behavioral or psychological causes of juvenile offenses. Further, the programs that do have the most positive impact on teen rehabilitation efforts, such as counseling, vocational and educational programs are not those typically associated with military training and are not in any way dependent upon the boot camp environment.
References
- The University of New Hampshire: Efficacy in Delinquency Prevention and Treatment Programs
- The Campbell Collaboration: Effects of Correctional Boot Camps on Offending
- UC Davis School of Law Journal of Juvenile Law & Policy: Advocating the End of Juvenile Boot Camps
- Mental Health America: Factsheet: Juvenile Boot Camps
- Texas Youth Commission: Boot Camps for Juvenile Offenders
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