Researchers Evaluate Eight Shock Incarceration Programs

To find out how shock incarceration programs operating and which objectives they are achieving, the National Institute of Justice sponsored an evaluation of eight adult programs (in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas). This Update discusses the results of the study, which examined the development and implementation of the programs, the attitude changes of offenders during the in-prison phase of the programs, and the impact of the programs on the positive activities of graduates during community supervision. In all eight programs, offenders participated in a rigorous daily schedule of military drill and ceremony, physical training, and hard labor. In recent years, a number of jurisdictions have implemented shock incarceration (boot camp) programs in an effort to alleviate prison crowding and reduce recidivism.