boot camp (correctional)

Boot camps are part of the correctional and penal system of some countries. Modeled after military recruit training camps, these programs are based on shock incarceration grounded on military techniques. The aggressive training used has resulted in deaths in a variety of circumstances. Boot camps are also criticized around the world for their lack of behavioral change and for the way extreme force can traumatize children and teenagers.

Background

The term "boot" originates from US Navy and Marine recruits in the Spanish–American War (1898) who wore leggings called boots. These recruits were trained in "boot" camps.

Military-style training was used in the eighteenth century to rehabilitate civilian prisoners in the United States and for military prisoners during World War 2.

Use around the world

Australia

In Australia, the Liberal National Premier of the state of Queensland Campbell Newman announced that boot camps for convicted young people will open in Townsville and Rockhampton by September 2013, along with two other camps. These boot camps closed in 2015 under the Labor government.

China

In the People's Republic of China, boot camps for internet addiction disorder have been widely criticized for their methods and conditions.

Canada

In Canada, participation in boot camp programs is voluntary, so as to avoid any challenges under the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' under which treatment at boot camps could be seen as an infringement on a youth's right to not be subject to cruel and unusual punishment and to ensure security of person.

The provincial government of Ontario funded a private boot camp project for non-violent juveniles, Project Turnaround, from 1997 to 2004. The camp was a "tougher" alternative to Ontario's other youth detention facilities as part of a tough on crime response to increasing youth incarceration rates by the government of Premier Mike Harris.

New Zealand

New Zealand set up its first boot camps in 1971 but they were abandoned in 1981 and replaced with correctional training until 2002. The boot camps were regarded as a failure with a 71% rate of re-offending among corrective trainees. By 1997, the recidivism rate for correctional training graduates after five years had reached 92%, three times the rate of the general population. In June 1997, Corrections Minister Paul East concluded that correctional training had failed to reduce youth offending. Correctional training was abolished by the Sentencing Act 2002. The Te Whakapakari Youth Programme, an outdoor and Māori culture-focused rehabilitative boot camp in Great Barrier Island run by boxer John da Silva for youth offenders and "difficult to manage" state wards, ran between 1977 and 2004. The programme has come under the scrutiny of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care due to reports of psychological, physical and sexual abuse.

Prior to being elected into Government in 2008 the National Party released a policy of using boot camps for those with drug problems. The Fifth National Government introduced military-style activity camps (MACs) run by the New Zealand Defence Force for forty of the most serious recidivist young offenders which involved marching exercises, mentoring, drug and alcohol treatment programs, education, and an assisted move back into the community. The Government also launched a nine-week camp for the most serious, recidivist offenders in Christchurch in 2010 and a court-supervised programme providing up to ten days of adventure camp activities. 35 of the 42 participants in the first boot camp intake reoffended while 15 of the 17 participants in the second intake reoffended. While the-then Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett claimed the programmes had succeeded in lowering offending among that group, this was disputed by Prime Minister John Key's chief science adviser Sir Peter Gluckman in a 2011 report. The New Zealand Families Commission concluded that military camps and other measures such as curfews with electronic monitoring could not reduce re-offending on their own and that the most successful rehabilitation programmes involved the offenders' families.

On 13 August 2017, Prime Minister Bill English promised to establish a boot camp known as the "Junior Training Academy" for youth offenders at the Waiouru Military Camp during the 2017 election campaign. English clarified that the camp would be for a small group of around 150 young offenders who had committed serious offenses including serious assault, sexual assaults, aggravated robbery and murder. In response, youth Justice advocacy group JustSpeak director Katie Bruce criticized the proposed boot camp policy and argued that it would do little to curb re-offending among young offenders. National's proposed policy was criticized by the radio host Mark Sainsbury, The Opportunities Party leader Gareth Morgan, the New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, and the University of Canterbury psychologist and author Jarrod Gilbert, who contended that the policy was aimed at enticing voters rather than helping youth offenders and that previous boot camp programmes had failed. The boot camp policy was also criticized by both National's support partner, the Māori Party, and the opposition Green Party for doing little to address youth offending within the Māori and the Pasifika communities. David Seymour, the leader of National's support partner the ACT Party, criticized the boot camp policy as a sign of the Government's failure to tackle "broken families" and youth crime.

In mid November 2022, National Party leader Christopher Luxon announced that if elected National would establish boot camps known as Youth Offender Military Academies for juvenile offenders aged between 15 and 17 years. These camps would be run by the Ministry of Justice and New Zealand Defence Force and would provided education, counselling, drug and alcohol treatment, and cultural support to offenders. Luxon's proposal was criticised by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the NZ Psychological Society, and youth workers Aaron Hendry and Apiphany Forward Taua, who argued that boot camps failed to address the causes of youth crime. In addition, Gluckman criticised boot camps and other "scared straight" programmes for increasing crime. He advocated addressing juvenile delinquency and abuse through early intervention programmes, targeted mental health services, and complimentary services focusing on the Māori and Pasifika communities. By contrast, former Hamilton City councillor Mark Bunting opined that boot camps could help deal with high youth crime rates in the Waikato region and was preferable to sending youth offenders to prison.

In March 2024, Children's Minister Karen Chhour confirmed that the National-led coalition government would be launching a pilot programme for its Youth Offender Military Academies. The programme would be run by Oranga Tamariki and have a rehabilitative and trauma-informed care approach. The pilot camp would also have a military-style component. The pilot boot camp is expected to open in 2024 and will host ten young people for a period of four months. The Government's boot camp programme was criticised by Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, who said that military-style academies did not "resolve the driver of crimes" and that boot camps, borstals and boy's homes contributed to the persistence of gangs. The IHC director of advocacy Tania Thomas, Professor Joanna Kidman, Auckland youth development worker Aaron Hendry and human rights law firm Cooper Legal also expressed concern about the punitive nature of boot camps and their impact on disadvantaged children and young people, particularly Māori and the intellectually disabled. In response to criticism, Chhour argued that boot camps were needed to show young offenders "there were consequences for their actions but they could benefit from a chance to turn their lives around." Similarly, Police Minister Mark Mitchell argued that boot camps were needed because serious youth offenders were a "danger to the community...and themselves."

In mid June 2024, RNZ reported that Oranga Tamariki's pilot boot camp would open on 29 July with a first cohort of 10 teenagers. The boot camp would consist of three months of "military-style activities" and a special curriculum in a residential setting followed by nine months of intensive mentoring in the community with whanau (family) support. Research conducted by the Billy Graham Youth Foundation and Impact Lab found that boot camps reduced reoffending in the first 18 months but that reoffending rates increased after two years. They also advocated a therapeutic approach rather than a punitive approach to boot camps. In early July 2024, RNZ reported that the pilot boot camp would be based in Palmerston North. While the New Zealand Defence Force would not be staffing the boot camps, it would be involved at a governance level. Oranga Tamariki would be responsible for staffing the camps. According to Stuff, the Defence Force had expressed concerns about running the boot camps, saying that it would affect its workforce capabilities, staff morale and retention, and its lack of experience in youth justice management, educational and specialist therapeutics. The Defence Force also warned that it lack the legal mandate to manage youth detention facilities, which prompted the Government to introduce legislation giving boot camp operators the power to use force to detain young prisoners.

In mid-August 2024, one of the youth participants withdrew from the pilot boot camp programme. According to Te Ao Māori News, participants underwent a structured daily routine consisting of washing, military-style drills, cleaning their rooms and ironing their clothes. In addition, participants also received individualised education and clinical sessions. In early September 2024, Stuff reported that the Military Style Academy and subsequent boot camps would provide participants outdoor excursions, martial arts training, yoga and access to therapists. While the academy targeted serious youth offenders who had been sentenced through the Youth Court, Oranga Tamariki excluded co-offenders, those with gang connections, physical and mental disabilities. Females were also excluded from the pilot programme due to the staffing requirements needed for mixed gender cohorts. In early November 2024, RNZ reported that the New Zealand Cabinet had authorised the use of physical force by boot camp operators to control unruly participants. In response, Luxon said that physical force would only be used as a "last resort" against youth offenders.

On 21 November 2024, a youth who had participated in the government's boot camp pilot was accused of reoffending five weeks after graduating from the programme. On 5 December 2024, Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive Tusha Penny confirmed that a second boot camp participant had died in a motor accident near Tīrau and that another former boot camp participant, who had attended his tangihanga (funeral), was on the run. By 8 December two former boot camp participants, including the one who had attended the tangihanga, had been arrested in relation to the theft of a car near Hamilton. In response, Chhour expressed relief that the youths had been found while expressing disappointment with the youths. Meanwhile, Labour's children spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime and Green's justice spokesperson Tamatha Paul questioned the success of the government's boot camp programme.

On 31 January 2025, Save the Children New Zealand launched a 'Boot the Bill' campaign to oppose the Government's legislation establishing the legal framework for youth offender boot camps. On 15 February, Malatest International released its evaluation of the Military-Style Academy pilot. While its report noted positive developments such as youth participants reconnecting with their families, health issues being addressed and the lack of fighting among participants, it also expressed concerns about insufficient staff ratios, and limited Māori language and cultural input despite the participants being Māori.

On 22 May 2025, the 2025 New Zealand budget allocated NZ$33 million to establishing youth boot camps and another $16 million to setting up the Youth Serious Offender category, which provides the framework for sending serious youth offenders to boot camps. In response, Aaron Hendry, the co-founder of youth development organisation "Kick Back", criticised the Government's boot camp funding decision, which he described as "child prisons." He argued that the money could be better spent on addressing child and youth homelessness.

United States

The first boot camps appeared in the states of Georgia and Oklahoma in 1983. Boot camps are intended to be less restrictive than prison but harsher than probation.

In most U.S. states participation in boot camp programs is offered to young first-time offenders in place of a prison term or probation; in some states a youth can also be sentenced to participate in such a program. The time served can range from 90 to 180 days, which can make up for prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Federal shock incarceration programs are authorized unde
18 U.S.C. § 4046
although the placement requires consent of the prisoner.

In 1995, the U.S. federal government and about two-thirds of the 50 states were operating boot camp programs. Presently, there are no statistics as to how many boot camps there are in the U.S. In 2000, there were 51 boot camps still open. In 2010, 80% of participants were ethnic minorities.

There are many types of boot camps. Some boot camps are more therapeutic.

State-run boot camps were banned in Florida on June 1, 2006, through legislation signed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush after 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson died while in a boot camp. Anderson died as drill instructors beat him and encouraged him to continue physical exercise after he had collapsed. While Anderson was unconscious, guards placed ammonia tablets near his nose in an attempt to revive him, and he suffocated. Anderson attended Bay County Boot Camp in Panama City, Florida. The Victory Forge Military Academy in Florida has come under intense scrutiny of its methods, which border on physical abuse. The camp's defense is that the parents had signed a contract authorizing the use of physical force against their children.

Evaluation

Studies in the United States suggest that boot camps with a strong therapeutic component (such as education, drug treatment and counselling) have a positive effect on participants, while those that have no counselling and consist only of physical activity have a significant negative effect. A key criticism is that the emphasis on authority can only result in frustration, resentment, anger, short temper, a low self-esteem and aggression rather than respect. Some boot camps have been the subject of abuse scandals. According to ''The New York Times'' there were 31 known deaths of youths in U.S. boot camps since between 1980 and 2009, a rate of approximately one death each year.

Alternatives

Boot camps claim to remove children "from environments filled with negative influences and triggering events that produce self-defeating, reckless or self-destructive behavior". Other types of programs (see outdoor education, adventure therapy, and wilderness therapy) use this method while avoiding all or some of the controversial methods of boot camps, and they claim lower recidivism.

See also

* Behavior modification facility
* Fitness boot camp
* Juvenile court
* Gooning
*'' Rock and a Hard Place'', an HBO documentary film about youth boot camps in the U.S.
* '' Brat Camp''
* Borstal

References

Further reading

*Begin, P. Boot Camps: Issues for Consideration. (Ottawa: Library of Parliament, September 1996).
*"BHIP: Studies Find Boot Camps Have High Rearrest Rates.", February 18, 1998
*Cowles et al. "Boot Camp" Drug Treatment and Aftercare Intervention: An Evaluation Review. (Washington: National Institute of Justice, July 1995).
*Jones, P. Young Offenders and the Law. (North York: Captus Press, 1994).
*Mackenzie et al. "Boot Camp Prisons and Recidivism in Eight States." Canadian Journal of Criminology (1995), Vol. 3, No. 3: 327–355.
*McNaught, A. Boot Camps. (Toronto: Legislative Research Service, December 1995).
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External links

Boot camps
at Project NoSpank

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boot Camp (Correctional)
Child welfare organizations
Punishments
Penology
Penal system in the United States
Penal system in Canada
Youth detention centers