Juvenile Boot Camps Sociology

The officials of the boot camp programs started them with several goals and objectives to attain after their completion. To begin with, they aim at reducing overcrowding in jails. They believed that boot camps are the most effective solutions for overcrowding since the time taken was shorter that that spend in the normal prisons. However, they only served a small number of individuals. The second goal was to reduce the repeat of similar crimes. Research by (Gallagher, 2014) pointed out that it is difficult to measure the rate at which juveniles repeat crime due to various limitations. For instance, he postulated that the first limitation to the measurement of recidivism is its definition. Many individuals use different criteria, a factor …show more content…
For instance, they are known to be expensive in terms of money. They are thus known for using money that could have been used in other activities for beneficial purposes but it is still used in them, and they are more than ten times expensive compared to other programs such as juvenile probations. Due to such issues, boot camps have become common places where juveniles are potentially abused and humiliated. This misbehavior is against the goals of the boot camps as they aim at providing their services in a positive manner such that they are helpful and taken positively by the inmates. They have also become places where adults have the freedom to torment the juveniles, and they celebrate …show more content…
Additionally, it is taken as an alternative to the hard times experienced in jails and miracles to cure for crime. However, research conducted by (Bottcher, 2005) indicated that boot camps do not produce the expected results of reducing recidivism as it is still similar to that in the ones subjected to detention. Therefore, it is credible to ascertain that they do not attain their goals of reforming criminals. They are also under increased pressure for closure due to critics since they cause high tax burdens to taxpayers and may lead to various issues of violence. As a result, it is the responsibility of lawmakers to implement better approaches that will help in the rehabilitation and good care to individuals since there is an increase in pessimism on boot camps. The boot camps also have a goal of giving aftercare activities that are believed be effective ways of reducing recidivism (Worrall, 2010). However, the aftercare activities may not attain the set goals as their implementation is either poor or not in accordance with the plan. Some weaknesses that may make it not work include the fact that the responsibility is left to the overworked juvenile probation and parole officers. Thus, the boot camp program officers do not give the aftercare activities adequate attention. Due to such flaws, it is impractical for the