Boot Camps: Issues for Canada

By JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY OF ALBERTA

Currently, there are several Canadian provincial governments who are considering the use of boot camps. The driving force behind the boot camp alternative is different from the United States. In Canada, there is a common perception that offenders are "getting off easy." Recent public outcry is forcing the government to consider more punitive measures for dealing with criminals. The use of shock incarceration is seen as introducing these more punitive measures. Few would question that the military regimen enforced in boot camps is far more arduous than prison. However, there are several factors that frustrate the use of boot camps in Canada and make their use unacceptable.

First, Canadian legislation does not currently allow for significantly shorter sentences based on the successful completion of any program. Rather, adult prison sentences in Canada are automatically reduced by one-third. This one-third is served in the community under statutory release. By law, most federal inmates must be released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. These offenders are then supervised in the community until the end of their sentence and follow conditions similar to the conditions of parole. Exceptions include offenders who the National Parole Board believes are likely to cause serious harm prior to the end of their sentence; these offenders may be detained in penitentiary until the end of their sentence, released to a halfway house or released on "one chance" statutory release. In the United States, most programs offer the appealing alternative of serving short but difficult stays in boot camp rather than long stays in prison. In Canada, however, boot camps would not be so appealing to offenders. Without the appeal of sentence reduction, there is no motivation for offenders to serve their sentences in boot camps. Participation in boot camps would necessarily be mandated.

Following from this, forced participation in the program would be far less likely to succeed in rehabilitating the offender. Motivation is a key factor that allows boot camps to instill change in their participants. Without the option of participating and without the shorter sentence benefit of participating, it is unlikely that offenders will be willing to contribute positively to the experience. Offenders will not likely be rehabilitated by involvement in a program that does not instill internal motivation.

Third, as indicated earlier, several states that currently operate programs have come to the conclusion that rehabilitative programming such as treatment is an integral part of the boot camp experience. Without a recognition that successful relapse prevention depends on successful treatment, Alberta programs would surely fail in the long run in reducing recidivism levels. Punishment alone does not work as a motivating force for changing offenders' behaviour.

Fourth, given Canada's fiscal situation, it is unlikely that boot camps will be attractive. Boot camps can be more costly to run than prisons and, therefore, are not cost-effective without significant reductions in custody sentence length. Provincial governments are currently exercising restraint in all areas of public expenditure. Given the limitations of Canadian law mentioned previously, boot camps would only increase the costs of corrections.

Despite these issues and concerns with the introduction of boot camps in Canada, Ontario opened a boot camp for young offenders in 1997. Ontario's first boot camp opened in Medonte Township in July, 1997. The program, known as Project Turnaround, employs approximately 40 staff members, including clinicians, youth workers, drill instructors and administrative staff (Company selected..., 1997). The program accommodates 32 male juvenile repeat offenders who have received a youth court disposition of open custody or probation following a custodial sentence.

Project Turnaround is a highly regimented, 16 hours a day program. The project addresses issues such as academics, life skills, literacy training and problem solving techniques but the main focus of the program is on physical fitness and hard work (Company selected...., 1997). Project Turnaround mirrors a strictly military way of life and models boot camps in the United States.