Boot Camp Debate Essay, Research Paper

In any of today & # 8217 ; s society no affair where you look there will be some grounds of offense nowadays. This statement derives from a sociologist theory that says no society can be without offense. The authorities is invariably looking for new ways to cover with these reoccurring jobs. The focal point has been placed upon the authorities to look into immature wrongdoers and the manner used to penalize them. Weapons ownership is rather common among the young person, at least in urban Canada, between one-third and one one-fourth of pupils surveyed indicated that they had carried some signifier of arm at school over the old twelvemonth. Data drawn from Statistics Canada has revealed that the figure of reported incidents of violent offenses by males aged 12-17 have risen 64 % and more than doubled for females during the decennary beginning in 1989 and stoping in 1999. A survey conducted in Southern Ontario, researching pupil perceptual experiences of force in schools, revealed important degrees of fright associating to possible exploitation. It is these more serious offenses affecting immature wrongdoers that the authorities has been forced to cover with. Many suggestions have been made and many measures have been voted on but still no & # 8220 ; certain fire & # 8221 ; solution to the job exists. The latest thought brewing in Parliament is the usage of boot cantonments to penalize immature wrongdoers ; nevertheless others believe directing immature wrongdoers to boot cantonment is non the reply and there are more efficient ways to rectify their negative behavior.

The newest & # 8220 ; brain-storm & # 8221 ; that politicians have dwelled upon is directing immature wrongdoers that commit serious offenses to boot cantonment. The first inquiry that comes to mind is what is a boot cantonment? A boot cantonment is an alternate topographic point to direct young persons between the ages of 12-17 who commit serious condemnable offenses. Boot cantonments have five basic ends: ( 1 ) incapacitation, ( 2 ) disincentive, ( 3 ) rehabilitation, ( 4 ) decrease of prison costs and crowding, and ( 5 ) penalty ( Colledge & A ; Gerber, 1998 ) . These installations are designed to resocialize the & # 8220 ; bad-boys & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; bad-girls & # 8221 ; into citizens that will be accepted back into society. The program is to utilize a military manner to penalize the childs and in return teach them subject and transform them back to jurisprudence staying citizens. & # 8220 ; Punishment ranges from strict exercising & # 8211 ; running excess laps around the barracks with a battalion on, combinations of sit-ups, pull-ups and press-ups & # 8211 ; reduced repasts or repasts out-of-doorss, and work item, such as delving a whole alone outside for a hebdomad & # 8221 ; ( Simpson, 1996, p. A1 ) . The authorities feels that with these military manner boot camps the per centum of violent offenses by immature wrongdoers will get down to diminish.

On the other manus, there is another group of people who do non back up the thought of put ining a boot cantonment system into the condemnable statute law. First of all the thought of boot cantonments was instituted in Britain. The consequences were non even shut to what the British Government expected. There was hardly even a alteration in the decrease of the per centum of immature wrongdoers involved in violent offenses. This raises the idea of what will do the consequences in Canada any different from those found in Britain. The people against boot cantonments seem to be trusters in the fact that gaol and boot cantonments aren & # 8217 ; t the best manner to penalize a immature wrongdoer. & # 8220 ; Alternatively, they said, there needs to be a stronger focal point on detering conditions which lead to condemnable behavior through school and vicinity plans. And when a offense is com

mitted by a 12-17 twelvemonth old, there should be alternate penalties to jail” ( Honywill, 1996, p. N1 ) . The critics of boot cantonments besides believe that to halt offense at that place has to be a batch more attending paid to bar and nil else. “Dr. Mark Sandford of McMaster University, said anti-social behavior takes many old ages to develop and can non be solved by speedy solutions such as gaol or the alleged boot cantonments, where immature people are forced to make strenuous labor during a period of incarceration” ( Honywill, 1996, p.2 ) . The determination the critics have come to is boot cantonments are non the right manner to travel and at that place has to be other options open for the penalty of immature wrongdoers.

In relation to the options for immature wrongdoers, topographic points such as Detention Centers are an enhanced option to see for the procedure of rehabilitating younger childs. & # 8220 ; The Prince George Youth Custody Center is a secure installation supplying a full scope of plans to let young persons to do maximum constructive usage of their clip while in detention & # 8221 ; ( *http: //members.pgonline.com/~pgycc/ ) . The P.G.Y.C.C. is located in British Columbia and is responsible for the detention agreements for all the interior parts. All young persons that are admitted into this centre are between the ages of 12 and 17. The occupants are responsible for their jobs, wash and personal hygiene, and on weekends school is replaced by a assortment of plans that emphasise upon particular events affecting outside community groups. The Center besides has many plans that the young persons are to take portion in. Some illustrations of these plans are Teen Drug/Alcohol Awareness, Violence Prevention, Psychological Counselling, Arts and Crafts, and Recreation. The plans are designed to assist the immature wrongdoers in the specific countries that the young persons seem to be missing in mental and physical development. Aid of this extent is non available in gaol or boot cantonments ; therefor the adolescents will hold a batch of one on one guidance and most likely will be decently rehabilitated. Overall the Prince George Youth Custody Center presents a much better atmosphere in order to rectify behavior and resocialize the immature wrongdoers back into the community one time their clip in detention is completed.

There are other options for the rehabilitation of immature wrongdoers instead than transporting them off to prison or boot cantonments. The boot cantonments and prisons do non offer the young persons the proper intervention needed to transform a individual from a condemnable dorsum to a normal citizen of society. Topographic points such as Detention Centers offer a more controlled and logical procedure of plans developed particularly for the particular childs sent to these topographic points. It is believed that a plan such as the P.G.Y.C.C. will finally be more effectual in rectifying the behavior of immature wrongdoers and in concurrence lower the rate of young person offense around the state.

Colledge, D. and Gerbert, J. ( 1998, June ) . Rethinking the premises about boot cantonments.

Federal Probation, vol. 62, issue 1, p.54.

Honywill, B. ( 1996, Nov. 20 ) . Boot camps non reply: panel: Must discourage

conditions taking to youth offense. The Hamilton Spectator, p. N1.

Simpson, L. ( 1996, Oct. 5 ) . Academy targets troublesome teens: Military-style school

for boys costs $ 20,400 a twelvemonth. The Hamilton Spectator, p. A1.

Prince George Youth Custody Center. [ WWW papers ] . ( n.d./ 2000, Mar. 22 ) .

Available: *http: //members.pgonline.com/~pgycc/