Boot camp (correctional)

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.

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.

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 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.

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