When trying to analyze the positives and negatives about boot camps for troubled teens, many factors have to be considered. Generalizations don’t work.
One important issue to consider is the cause of the incarceration, which is often drug abuse.
Each case is different. In extreme cases, judges may have to choose between sending a young man to jail or boot camp. Even though the relapse rate is high (over 90%), it’s far better for most young men and women to attend a mandatory boot camp than having to face the horrors of jail.
The personnel that run the boot camps are of utmost importance; if the men or women in charge aren’t dedicated professionals, the chances of long-term behavioral improvement are not encouraging.
Being outside and undergoing rigorous physical exercise on a regular basis is far preferable for most youngsters compared to sitting in a jail cell with inmates who are dangerous and beyond help. And boot camps combine the exercise with schooling, which is beneficial.
Boot camps differ dramatically in personnel and goals for the teenage boys and girls who are having serious problems adjusting to adulthood. The basic concept of uncompromising discipline isn’t perfect, but it’s preferable to sending kids to jail when there is still a chance to turn them into productive citizens.
Boot camps aren’t going to work for all teens. In some cases, young people will become more opposed to discipline and authority and come out worse than they go in. But some of them will improve dramatically; when they hook up with a disciplinarian who has their best interests at heart, major progress can be made.
In extreme cases, it’s close to the end of the line. When a judge has to choose between sending a young man or woman to jail or boot camp, the latter is far preferable in most cases.
Usually it’s the incarcerated youngsters who will determine whether the boot camp is a success or not. If drugs are the problem, the kids will be off them while they are going through the equivalent of basic training. It gives them a chance to consider their alternatives. Some will choose the high road and others will take the low road that leads to an unhappy life at best and prison at worst.
Boot camps may be a last chance, but that’s better than no chance at all.
