The National Institute of Justice, which is the research arm of the Department of Justice, has completed a ten year study on boot-camps as an effective alternative to prison.

This NIJ Research for Practice presents findings from 10 years of data analyzing whether boot camps are successful in reducing recidivism, prison populations, and operating costs.

The report found that although boot camps generally had positive effects on the attitudes and behaviors of inmates during confinement, these changes did not translate into reduced recidivism. Programs were often too brief to exert a lasting effect on inmates released to the community and they lacked, as well, a strong treatment model or sufficient preparation for reentry into the community.

Boot camps' efforts to achieve multiple goals contributed to conflicting results. For example, lengthening camps so that more treatment programs could be included, which reduced recidivism, also shortened the discount in time served and undercut lower prison bed costs.

The full report is available here.