Alternative Incarceration:ARE BOOT CAMPS AN EFFECTIVE FORM OF INCARCERATION? Introduction & Overview of the Problem.

Over the past decade, crime -- and how to cope with it -- has emerged as one of the most important public policy issues in the United States (Krisberg, 1994). Given that males aged 18 to 24 comprise the single largest "criminal element" (as measured by number of offenses, arrest rates, convictions, etc.) in American society, particular attention has focused on the problem of youth crime (Krisberg, 1994; Simon, 1995; IACP, 1996; Finckenauer, 1982). Experts agree that the juvenile justice system -- which deals with offenders as young as 12 and as old as 24 -- is badly in need of reform (Davidson, Redner, Amdur, Mitchell, 1990; Schwartz & Barton, 1994). On any given day, more than 18,000 young people are held in the nation's public juvenile detention centers (Schwartz & Barton, 1994, p. 1). The majority of these youth are simply awaiting trial; thousands more are already jammed into overcrowded long-term detention centers, training schools, and, increasingly, adult prisons.

Marines stomp combat boot

Woman putting flask in her Russian boot, Washingto...

English: Army Combat Boot (Temperate)

As part of the effort to deal with the dual problems of rising youth crime and an overwhelmed juvenile justice system, a variety of "alternative" programs have been proposed and/or tried. These include diversion from the justice system (to "outward bound" type programs, restitution programs, etc.) and simple probation (Davidson, Redner, Amdur, & Mitchell, 1990). While both public policy opinion and empirical research tends to support the use of such alternative diversion programs for first-time, non-violent offenders as well as for the youngest offenders, both the public and national policy makers support the use of stronger, "get tough" measures for the older (i.e., over 18 years) and repeat offenders (Curriden, 1995; Krisberg, 1994; Schwartz & Barton, 1994). "Get tough" sentiments notwithstanding, simply shifting the older youth offender population into the adult justice system does not appear to be a viable...