BOOT-CAMP IDEA OFFERS OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG CRIMINAL

What has long hours, tough discipline, drill instructors, strict rules, uniforms and lasts 12 weeks?

For thousands of men and women who have gone through rigorous military training, the answer might be "boot camp." In fact, the boot-camp philosophy has been extended by Missouri's correctional system to young offenders who meet strict criteria as possible candidates to become productive and law-abiding adults.

The Department of Corrections formally calls the program the Regimented Discipline Program, but it is commonly referred to as correctional boot camp. The program, which has a lot of criteria and restrictions, was established by the General Assembly six years ago. So far there is only one operating site. It is located at the Farmington Correction Center and has just 18 "recruits." The center's program was set up to accommodate 50 young offenders.

Why so few? And why hasn't the program been widely embraced across the state? Without benefit of experience, the new program anticipated a lot of young, non-violent criminals would be steered into the program. Not wanting to bite off more than it could chew, the Department of Correction established restrictive guidelines for the program in order to make sure the most qualified young men were allowed into the program and, indirectly, increase the likelihood that the program would be successful.

At first the program was limited to criminals who went through the court system in St. Louis and St. Louis County. When that failed to produce a flood of potential recruits, the program was extended to the state's other urban area, Kansas City and Jackson County. Still, there are only the 18 recruits currently in the program.

The Department of Corrections is concerned about the low numbers. Part of the problem may be judges who are stymied by the complex rules and regulations. Another problem could be the geographic limitations. Why not open it up to judges all over the state?

Some of the answers to these and other questions will be sought in an evaluation process that the corrections department is starting. The criminal justice department at Southeast Missouri State University has been retained to do the evaluation.

There is good reason to believe the boot-camp concept can go a long way toward turning young offenders into productive citizens, whereas almost everyone has given up on prisons as rehabilitation centers. The boot camps are highly regimented and emphasize physical conditioning, team initiatives, personal assessments, lifetstyle changes, anger control, decision-making, life skills, stress management, spirituality, team projects, education, community restitution work and career planning.

Several other states have implemented similar programs, and many cite success stories. The Missouri program deserves to be fully implemented so that more and more young men have an opportunity to make something of their lives.

The correctional boot camp is sometimes compared to the tough but successful program used by Teen Challenge to turn around the lives of alcohol and drug users. As Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. of the Missouri Supreme Court said recently during a visit to his hometown: Given a choice between Teen Challenge and prison, many young criminals choose prison. Why? Because Teen Challenge is hard. Prison is easy -- and practically useless in changing habits or goals.

With the correctional boot camp, judges have an advantage: If the young offender qualifies, the boot camp doesn't have to be optional.