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On a related note, I remain very skeptical about the true value of the "boot camp" programs in actually bringing about the long-term, long-lasting behavioural changes that are required to change most offenders into halfway productive and law abiding people. Beyond making us feel good (Yaah! Kicked their teenage *sses didn't it!, etc) I wonder just exactly what the statistical track record is?
IMHO people make a false connection between the success of "boot camp" in the military and its usefulness in correcting criminals.
-To begin with, if Canadian statistics are anything at all like US figures, then IIRC about half of these people are mentally disordered to some degree. At the low end it may be anti-social personality disorder, while further along the disorder spectrum it might even be psycopathy. In other words, they have difficulty functioning properly at all. This was certainly reinforced to me by comments I noted from prison staff in various Federal institutions in Western Canada a few years ago;
-next, these people are in prison/detention because they have to be, not because they desire to be;
-third, IMHO the "boot camp" system appears to work in the military for a much wider range of factors, not the least of which is that after boot camp, the soldier goes on to experience other aspects of military life in an environment that reinforces good, group-oriented behaviour and sanctions (be it ever so weakly....) bad behavoiur. Even with all of that, the effects of boot camp can wear off: if it were not so, we would not require an ongoing system of military discipline that includes CFSDB. Further, in the last decade or so the CF has produced a number of unpleasant criminals of various types, all of whom presumably went through recruit training: evidently it is not a guarantee. The widely varying levels of personal discipline and behaviour in various units under various types of leaders further supports my contention IMHO. Now,lets take the offender who goes through "boot camp" and is then released back to civilian life. What happens? I will wager that the great majority of these will not return to function in an environment where whatever useful traits they learned in "boot camp" will be reinforced: quite the contrary. I bet you they wil go back to their old life in fairly short order. In fact, IMHO this return to their former sh*tbird haunts is often a factor in recidivism.
I'd really like to see some proof that "boot camp" actually works out in making good ciitizens out of offenders. Cheers.
IMHO people make a false connection between the success of "boot camp" in the military and its usefulness in correcting criminals.
-To begin with, if Canadian statistics are anything at all like US figures, then IIRC about half of these people are mentally disordered to some degree. At the low end it may be anti-social personality disorder, while further along the disorder spectrum it might even be psycopathy. In other words, they have difficulty functioning properly at all. This was certainly reinforced to me by comments I noted from prison staff in various Federal institutions in Western Canada a few years ago;
-next, these people are in prison/detention because they have to be, not because they desire to be;
-third, IMHO the "boot camp" system appears to work in the military for a much wider range of factors, not the least of which is that after boot camp, the soldier goes on to experience other aspects of military life in an environment that reinforces good, group-oriented behaviour and sanctions (be it ever so weakly....) bad behavoiur. Even with all of that, the effects of boot camp can wear off: if it were not so, we would not require an ongoing system of military discipline that includes CFSDB. Further, in the last decade or so the CF has produced a number of unpleasant criminals of various types, all of whom presumably went through recruit training: evidently it is not a guarantee. The widely varying levels of personal discipline and behaviour in various units under various types of leaders further supports my contention IMHO. Now,lets take the offender who goes through "boot camp" and is then released back to civilian life. What happens? I will wager that the great majority of these will not return to function in an environment where whatever useful traits they learned in "boot camp" will be reinforced: quite the contrary. I bet you they wil go back to their old life in fairly short order. In fact, IMHO this return to their former sh*tbird haunts is often a factor in recidivism.
I'd really like to see some proof that "boot camp" actually works out in making good ciitizens out of offenders. Cheers.