Boot camps for juvenile offenders: Just say no

Abstract

The apparent increase in the violence of juvenile crime and the media's sensationalistic portrayals of juvenile violence have fueled public outrage and spawned numerous political strategies to "get tough." Among the most popular of these is for shapers of policy to vocally advocate the development and proliferation of boot camps. As this editorial is being written, governors and legislatures in several states are advocating the use of boot camps for juvenile offenders, and the Crime Bill currently being debated in Congress, and supported by President Clinton, contains a provision for boot camps for juvenile offenders. While the boot camp solution may be politically expedient (in that it assuages public anger and fear and casts the impression that lawmakers are taking action) there is little reason to believe or suggest that such camps are effective in treating chronic, serious, or violent juvenile offenders. Two types of evidence bear upon the question of whether boot camps are effective. The first type consists of findings from studies of boot camps themselves. Most of the studies are quasi-experimental, at best, and many reports are based entirely upon anecdotal evidence (Office of Technology Assessment, 1991). The second type consists of findings on the correlates and causes of juvenile delinquency.