Pubdate: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 Source: Daily Independent, The (KY) Copyright: 2002 The Daily Independent, Inc. Contact: http://www.dailyindependent.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1573 BOOT CAMP CLOSES State Bureau Of Prisons Closes Program That Proved To Be Costly And Ineffective Call it an experiment that just didn't work out. After almost nine years, the Kentucky Bureau of Prisons is closing its adult boot-camp at Roederer Correctional Complex in LaGrange. The camp proved to be costly to operate and not all that effective in turning around the lives of the non-violent offenders who completed the program. Thus, the 200 beds designated for the boot camp will be converted into medium security beds. The boot camp opened in July 1993. Non-violent inmates who volunteered for the four-months of rigorous, military-style training were promised an early release from prison. However, the camp proved difficult to staff and costly to operate. Just as important, about the same percentage of the approximately 1,400 inmates who completed the boot camp committed new crimes when released as other released prisoners did. In short, the self-discipline they learned in boot camp was not applied outside of prison. Despite the promise of early release from prison, the boot camp did not prove to be as popular with prisoners as officials thought it would be. The program had room for 200 inmates, but it never had more than 125 at one time. The building that now houses the boot camp will be used for a substance-abuse program. Helping inmates kick their drug habits likely will do far more to keep them from committing new crimes than the discipline learned in boot camp ever did. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake