Juvenile boot camps are short-term programs that mimic military style basic training to help with troubled youth in modifying their behavior. The main goals of boot camps are to reduce recidivism by using strict discipline and tough rehabilitation programs to “break” the teen and change them into a model citizen. Boot camps were also created as a second less-expensive option for troubled teens than the usual detention facilities. Numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate the costs and benefits of boot camps for juvenile and adult offenders. However, the main concern for the existence of boot camps is whether or not they are effective in reducing recidivism. The reality is, boot camps are less than or equally as effective as any other
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When deciding the necessary punishment for juvenile offenders, most juvenile court systems tend to enroll troubled youth who have not been successful with probation or youth who have recommended by their probation officers. In front-end sentencing, minors are sent to boot camps for a specified period of time. In back-end sentencing, the decision on whether to transfer minors to boot camps is sometimes not immediately made. In some cases, Judges will order a juvenile offender to serve a certain length of their sentence in a correctional facility before transferring them to a boot camp. All boot camp programs refuse to accept minors who are escape risk, prone to violence, habitual offenders, or minors who have been rated “not suitable” for minimum security monitoring. Youth that have committed serious crimes such as murder, aggravated arson, kidnapping, manslaughter, and sexual offenses are not eligible for boot camp entry. Youths with serious mental health issues are also excluded from entering boot camp facilities. Some boot camps go as far as performing medical screenings to ensure that juvenile offenders do not have any serious health problems. Although the minimum and maximum age may vary from state to state the average ages range from 13 to 18-year-old males or
When deciding the necessary punishment for juvenile offenders, most juvenile court systems tend to enroll troubled youth who have not been successful with probation or youth who have recommended by their probation officers. In front-end sentencing, minors are sent to boot camps for a specified period of time. In back-end sentencing, the decision on whether to transfer minors to boot camps is sometimes not immediately made. In some cases, Judges will order a juvenile offender to serve a certain length of their sentence in a correctional facility before transferring them to a boot camp. All boot camp programs refuse to accept minors who are escape risk, prone to violence, habitual offenders, or minors who have been rated “not suitable” for minimum security monitoring. Youth that have committed serious crimes such as murder, aggravated arson, kidnapping, manslaughter, and sexual offenses are not eligible for boot camp entry. Youths with serious mental health issues are also excluded from entering boot camp facilities. Some boot camps go as far as performing medical screenings to ensure that juvenile offenders do not have any serious health problems. Although the minimum and maximum age may vary from state to state the average ages range from 13 to 18-year-old males or