An Outcome Evaluation of Pennsylvania's Boot Camp: Does Rehabilitative Programming within a Disciplinary Setting Reduce Recidivism?

Abstract

Although previous research has found the disciplinary model of correctional boot camps to be ineffective in reducing recidivism, the impact of a rehabilitative model is still unclear. The current study addresses this issue through an outcome evaluation of Penn-sylvania's Motivational Boot Camp Program, which uses a multidimensional approach to its rehabilitative programming. The authors predict that this program model should be more effective than traditional prison in reducing recidivism and that this effect will be particularly strong for certain high-risk offenders (i.e., those who are young and/or have a prior criminal record). The results from their logistic regression analyses indicate no significant differences in the recidivism of offenders graduating from the boot camp and those released from prison. However, tests for interactions indicate that this program performs better than prison for offenders with a prior record. This particular finding has important policy implications for targeting appropriate offenders for such programs.