The constant increase in the juvenile crime rate and the overcrowding of many prisons this past decade has required that society consider alternative treatment programs. The complex system of juvenile justice systems is generally run at the state or provincial level (Glick & Sturgeon, 1998, p.7). New programs were established to "scare straight" and rehabilitate juvenile repeat offenders. These juveniles were going to be "shocked" into being good. Politicians, always eager to satisfy their constituents, somewhat support juvenile boot camps because of their attractiveness towards the get tough on crime attitude that society holds. Being tough on crime equals votes.
Development
Boot camps and military training in corrections can be traced all the way back to Zebulon Brockway at the Elmira Reformatory in Elmira, New York in 1888 (Anderson, Dyson, Burns, 1999, p.7). When boot camps were first started, they were distinguished from other correctional programs by their extreme emphasis on physical labor, exercise, and a military atmosphere. In 1983, Oklahoma and Georgia were the first adult prisons to implement actual boot camp programs (American Correctional Association, 1996, p. 93). While boot camp programs were originally designed for adults, the juvenile justice system has also adopted them. The idea of juvenile boot camps is actually a relatively new idea.
In 1992, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funded three pilot sites in: Cleveland, Ohio, Denver, Colorado, and Mobile, Alabama. These sites focused on adjudicated, nonviolent offenders under the age of 18. These pilot juvenile boot camps were designed to be a highly-structured three to six month residential program followed by six to nine months of aftercare (probation). In contrast to adult boot camps, academic and therapeutic programming, as well as rehabilitation and aftercare are seen as critical components. Currently, there are more than seventy-five adult and juvenile.......
