Boot Camp Debate Essay -- essays research papers

The Boot Camp Debate In any of today's society no matter where you look there will be some evidence of crime present. This statement derives from a sociologist theory that says no society can exists without crime. The government is constantly looking for new ways to deal with these reoccurring problems. The focus has been placed upon the government to look into young offenders and the style used to punish them. Weapons possession is quite common among the youth, at least in urban Canada, between one-third and one quarter of students surveyed indicated that they had carried some form of weapon at school over the previous year. Data drawn from Statistics Canada has revealed that the number of reported incidents of violent crimes by males aged 12-17 have risen 64% and more than doubled for females during the decade beginning in 1989 and ending in 1999. A study conducted in Southern Ontario, exploring student perceptions of violence in schools, revealed significant levels of fear relating to possible victimi sation. It is these more serious crimes involving young offenders that the government has been forced to deal with. Many suggestions have been made and many bills have been voted on but still no "sure fire" solution to the problem exists. The latest idea brewing in Parliament is the use of boot camps to punish young offenders; however others believe sending young offenders to boot camp is not the answer and there are more efficient ways to correct their negative behaviour. The newest "brain-storm" that politicians have dwelled upon is sending young offenders that commit serious offences to boot camp. The first question that comes to mind is what is a boot camp? A boot camp is an alternative place to send youths between the ages of 12-17 who commit serious criminal offences. Boot camps have five basic goals: (1) incapacitation, (2) deterrence, (3) rehabilitation, (4) reduction of prison costs and crowding, and (5) punishment (Colledge & Gerber, 1998). These facilities are designed to resocialize the "bad-boys" and "bad-girls" into citizens that will be accepted back into society. The plan is to use a military style to punish the kids and in return teach them discipline and transform them back to law abiding citizens . "Punishment ranges from rigorous exercise - running extra laps... ...he rehabilitation of young offenders rather than shipping them off to prison or boot camps. The boot camps and prisons do not offer the youths the proper treatment needed to transform a person from a criminal back to a normal citizen of society. Places such as Custody Centers offer a more controlled and logical process of programs developed especially for the special kids sent to these places. It is believed that a program such as the P.G.Y.C.C. will ultimately be more effective in correcting the behaviour of young offenders and in conjunction lower the rate of youth crime around the country. References Colledge, D. and Gerbert, J. (1998, June). Rethinking the assumptions about boot camps. Federal Probation, vol. 62, issue 1, p.54. Honywill, B. (1996, Nov. 20). Boot camps not answer: panel: Must discourage conditions leading to youth crime. The Hamilton Spectator, p. N1. Simpson, L. (1996, Oct. 5). Academy targets troublesome teens: Military-style school for boys costs $20,400 a year. The Hamilton Spectator, p. A1. Prince George Youth Custody Center. [WWW document]. (n.d./ 2000, Mar. 22). Available: <http://members.pgonline.com/~pgycc/