BOOT CAMPS BEST OPTION

The first thing the pointy-headed social-worker types tell me when I
propose correctional boot camps for hard-core young offenders is that
they don't work.

"All the research shows boot camps are a failed experiment," they
tell me. "They were set up for political, knee-jerk reasons in the
U.S. but they actually hurt kids."

I love that when they trot out the "all the research shows" line.

In many cases, they haven't read the "research." They just heard
about it somewhere or read someone else's interpretation of it.

The truth is, the "research" on boot camps in the U.S. -- for adults
and youths -- shows that boot camps do change behaviour and if
they're run properly, even reduce recidivism (crimes committed after
release from custody) in some cases.

One of the most comprehensive studies in the U. S. by the National
Institute of Justice in 2003 (a U.S. Department of Justice agency)
concluded 10 years of studies of boot camps "produced mixed results."

What the study found was that boot camps did a very good job at
changing offender behaviour, including improving self-esteem and
skills and reducing anti-social attitudes and anxiety.

"Boot camps were almost universally successful in improving inmates'
attitudes and behaviour during the course of the program," the study
found. "The camps' disciplined structure and therapeutic programs
eliminated idleness and created a safer environment, which in turn
improved inmate attitudes and behaviour."

The trouble is, that positive behaviour doesn't always continue after
release into the community. As a result -- overall -- boot camps have
not reduced recidivism, the study found.

However, it did reduce recidivism in some cases (this is the part the
pointy-heads conveniently ignore), including in programs with
lengthier stays, better preparation for release and more aggressive
supervision in the community, the study found.

"Chances of reducing recidivism increased when boot camp programs
lasted longer and offered more intensive treatment and post-release
supervision," the study says.

But because many states are also trying to reduce costs, those
features are often lacking.

Most boot-camp programs in the U.S. have three objectives: to reduce
recidivism, reduce costs and cut the prison population -- goals that
often clash with each other, the study found.

The longer the stay in boot camp, the greater the chance of reducing
recidivism, but the higher the cost and the higher the prison
population (at least in the short term).

"Efforts to achieve multiple goals are likely the overall cause of
boot camps' conflicting results," the study says.

So it's not that boot camps "don't work," as critics claim. Their
success depends on how they're run.

The kind of boot camps we need in Canada are those with longer stays,
strong post-release strategies and rehabilitation programs, such as
drug and alcohol addiction programming.

Instead of two years at the Manitoba Youth Centre, where kid
criminals just hang out with other kid criminals, why not two years
at a boot camp -- or longer if necessary -- even if it costs more money?

It's a hell of a lot better than what we have now.