A study of criminal justice policymakers' perspectives: The forgotten component in boot camp programs and goals
✍ Scribed by William Bourns; Carol Veneziano; Louis Veneziano
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 97 KB
- Volume
- 33
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0047-2352
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Does occupation (sheriff, prosecutor, prison administrator, or parole/probation official) influence selection of boot camp components; especially the traditional positions of bpunishers,Q usually sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys, and breformers,Q usually prison and probation? As part of a larger study and at the request of the Missouri Department of Corrections, 670 questionnaires were mailed to all Missouri sheriffs, prosecutors, selected prison administrators, probation/parole staff, all public defenders, selected legislatures, and judges in Missouri. Respondents were asked to rank potential boot camp goals and programs using a Likert-type preferences scale of 1 = low preference to 5 = high preference. Three hundred fifty-three were returned, for a return rate of 53 percent. Using the Missouri survey data, the research question for this article was: Did occupation influence selection of boot camp components? To test the association of occupation with selection, a shorter list was compiled from the Missouri survey data of six typical bpunishmentQ items and six typical breformQ items as selected from the literature. Means and a t-test of significance were calculated. Results showed traditional positions of bpunishmentQ and breformQ did not drive program choices. Preference for breformQ items by all occupations was higher than preference for bpunishmentQ items. Results showed a potential shift away from the early military -punishment style of early boot camps. Correctional agencies thinking of reconfiguring or building new boot camps could use the results as a guide.