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Juvenile Boot Camp History

Decent Essays

Boot Camps

The history and explanation of how these institutions are operated

The increase in violent behavior amongst America's youth has prompted the implementation of more effective rehabilitation methods. With the percentage of non-violent offenders on the rise, prison incarceration or juvenile detention doesn't seem to be the right solution for rehabilitation. In December 1983 a new idea emerged in Giorgia. This new idea was shock incarceration or boot camp. These temporary institutions were the beginnings of a trend to try and help with the rehabilitation efforts of young offenders. During the early years the majority of the juvenile justice community did not accept this idea with only four institutions existing …show more content…

In April of 1992 this program was introduced into three states Ohio, Colorado and Alabama. It combined a military-style environment with conditioning, rehabilitation and an aftercare program. This program catered to nonviolent youth between the ages of 13 to 18. It also has three phases that the inmates must successfully pass in order to complete their sentence. The first phase is selection (including screening and intake). This phase consisted of selecting inmates who have not been convicted of any of the following: murder, manslaughter, sex offenses, aggravated arson, felony assaults and kidnapping. All of the inmates are required to take a medical examination prior to entering the program due to the physically demanding environment. Alcohol and drug associated inmates were accepted as long as they were not addicted to these substances. " Each program consisted of a 3-month military-like residential phase followed by a community aftercare phase of up to 9 months." (Felker and Bourque 10) During their three-month stay at boot camp undisciplined inmates would be dealt with in several ways. "The punishments were fairly clear: for minor incidents, extra pushups or drill time sufficed; for major flagrant

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