Analysis of Comparing the Environments of Boot Camps with Facilities for Juvenile Offenders Article - Essay Example

Author bio: One of the authors Doris Layton Mackenzie who is also the lead researcher of this article is a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The other author is Angela Gover who is an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and works in the College of Criminal Justice. Gaylene Styve Armstrong is also an author and a visiting assistant professor who works with the Administration of Justice Department at Arizona State University West in Phoenix.

Lastly, there is Ojmarrh Mitchell who is a research assistant professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. Other than Mitchell, the rest of the authors are Ph.D. holders. Funding Source: This research was funded and given full support after the funding by the Corrections Program Office in the US Department of Justice. The funds were transferred to the researchers through the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).Problem: The problem under research was that despite the growth in the boot camps’ popularity over the years from 1990, the environment under which the correction of juvenile offenders was carried out was still traditional using military-style methods of management.

The research, therefore, aims to provide the staff of these boot camps with more control over the juveniles but at the same time maintain a safe environment for correction. Hypothesis: The hypothesis is that the use of boot camps in comparison with the traditional facilities for juvenile offenders is more effective and provides a more positive impact on juvenile correctional programs and institutions.Methodology: The population studied was both the juveniles and the staff. The juveniles were 4121 and the staff 1362.

The sampling technique employed was systematic sampling starting from the state to the agencies responsible for the boot camps and finally to the particular boot camps. This, therefore, made the sample have 27 boot camps and 22 traditional facilities. The methods used to collect data were structured interviews and questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered to the juveniles and lower staff while the administrators were subjected to structured interviews. Analysis: explain the analysis was done by use of the factor analysis method where fourteen scales (Perceptual Environmental Conditions Scales) were used to measure the view of the juveniles and staff’s environment of their facility.

These scales used in the factor analysis included: control, resident danger, staff danger, environmental danger, activity, care, risks to residents, quality of life, structure, justice, freedom, therapeutic programming, preparation for release, and individual planning. Charts and graphs used: Graphs on responses to the Perceptual Environmental Conditions Scales by the youths and staff of the traditional facilities and also by the juvenile and staff of the boot camps are included in the research article.