Boot camps can be governmental being part of the correctional and penal system of some countries, but predominantly in the United States. 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 teens.
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Australia
In Australia the Premier of the state of Queensland Campbell Newman has announced that bootcamps for convicted youngs will open in Townsville and Rockhampton by September 2013, along with two other camps.
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. Canada started a boot camp project for non-violent juveniles with differences from the American models. The first one was opened in 1997 in Ontario. Unlike in the US system it is not possible to trade or shorten a jail sentence with a significantly shorter boot camp program.
Canadian boot camps do not have the time frame of 90 to 180 days and they are restricted to juveniles under 18, and are not yet open to female offenders. The judges do not directly possess the authority to send a youth to a boot camp. They may impose a sentence of secure or open custody. The latter is defined as, "a community residential center, group home, child care institution or forest or wilderness camp..." Once an open custody sentence is granted, a correctional official decides whether a sentence is served in a boot camp program. But the ultimate decision rests with the young person and the decision is made purely on the merits of the program because the time served remains the same.
The Canadian system is too new to show any comparable results but research has been done among US boot camps with different emphases, e.g. more on drug treatment or education than solely on military drill. According to the findings treatment has a slightly positive impact on the reduction of recidivism over strict discipline.
New Zealand
New Zealand set up its first boot camps in 1971 but they were abandoned in 1981. Prior to being elected into Government in 2008 the National Party released a policy of using boot camps for those with drug problems.
United States
The 1 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 under 18 U.S.C. ยง 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. today. In 2000, there were 51 boot camps still open.
There are many types of boot camps. Some boot camps are more therapeutic. Boot camps such as West Ridge Academy in West Jordan, Utah offer a wide range of activities, academics, and boarding school treatment programs to give students a well-rounded education.
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 during his abidance 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.
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.