Over the past nine years, the correctional boot camp has become the leading alternative to prison. Offenders mostly between the ages of nineteen and twenty-six are being sent to these boot camps to be rehabilitated. Correctional boot camps started out in Oklahoma and Georgia in 1984. By 1991, thirty-six states were operating boot camp programs that were following the same structure and setup as the Oklahoma and Georgia boot camps. Correctional boot camps were created because the public felt that there should be a place other than prison that would offer rehabilitation programs for young men who were at an age where it was possible to be rehabilitated.
             This research focuses on Oklahoma's first time offenders who were sentenced between 1989 and 1991, and an additional group of boot camp inmates who were surveyed in 1994. The desired result of these correctional boot camps would be that when the inmate left the camp he would have a more pro-social attitude and most importantly be less likely to go back to his hold habits and lifestyles (recidivism). Boot camps realized that in order to reduce recidivism there had to be a heavy emphasis placed on discipline and regimentation.
             The program participants consisted of males who were either serving time for property or drug offenses. Participants were usually put up for review after three to four months. If the participant showed marked improvement he would be released on probation, if not, he would spend the remainder of his sentence in prison.
             Current research suggests that boot camp participants returned to prison at nearly the same rate as traditionally incarcerated inmates and probationers. Researches therefore hypothesized that there would not be significant differences in recidivism rates among Oklahoma's boot camp participants, incarcerated inmates and probationers. When it came to recidivism, researchers did consider factors such as age, race and the typ...