SMALL STRIDES FOR STATE BOOT CAMP

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Department of Corrections is looking for a few (not-so-good) men.

State prison officials haven't turned Marine recruiters, but they are now studying ways to secure more qualified recruits for what is known as the Regimented Discipline Program.

It is better known to the public as prison boot camp, a concept that became popular in the 1980s as a way of keeping young offenders, particularly those engaged in using or selling illegal drugs, out of harm's way in adult penitentiaries.

Right now the state Department of Corrections has only one boot camp, located on the grounds of the Farmington Correction Center. But instead of 50 planned regimented discipline "recruits," the facility only has a census of 13.

The Farmington site formally opened for business last December, but thus far its census remains far below expectations, causing DOC officials to consider ways to implement what they believe is a sound idea in penology: installing a sense of self-esteem and respect among youthful offenders who have a potential for success as adults.

The boot camp concept was approved by the Missouri General Assembly in 1989, with enactment of RSMo 217.378, which not only created the system but outlined a specific curriculum and detailed who could and could not be remanded to the camps. Here is where at least some prison officials believe the low census problem can be corrected.

Criteria for admission is very specific, in keeping with the legislative language: males from age 17 to 25, with no prior felony charges, and a non-violent offender. This last stipulation rules out male youths who have been charged with murder in the first or second degree, involuntary manslaughter, forcible rape or sodomy, robbery in the first degree or certain sexual offenses.

Despite these disclaiming offenses, correction officers felt they would be inundated with boot camp assignees, and so they initially restricted admission, with only youths from St. Louis city and county being admitted. When this proved unnecessary, the door was opened for offenders from Kansas City and Jackson County.

There is still only one-fourth capacity, even with the state's second- largest urban area now included in the program area.

Tim Kniest, a corrections official, says another factor is at work in hindering the effectiveness of the boot camp program: Judges in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas have been slow to designate the alternative program partly because restrictions are numerous and partly because the program has only a brief history and there has been little publicity about its availability.

An outline of the placement process is also rather cumbersome. Referrals should be made at the time of a probation revocation if other community alternatives have been exhausted, or at the initial sentencing, if, in the absence of a Regimented Discipline Program, the offender would be committed to the department to serve a prison term.

Under present rules, offenders must be referred by court order, and they must be sentenced under the provisions of RSMo 217.378.

The DOC boot camp doesn't lack for specific programs and schedules to keep offenders busy. The first two weeks include orientation, physical exercise and conditioning, team initiatives, personal assessments and a program called "Breaking the Barriers," which is designed to introduce youths to lifestyles different from their own.

From the third through the 11th weeks, offenders attend group sessions that teach them anger control, empathy, decision-making, life skills, stress management and spirituality. This time is also spent in weekend team projects, education classes leading to a GED, community restitution work in their home neighborhoods, and family intervention visits.

The final boot camp week is spent in career planning and strategy with the youth's boot counselor and parole officers.

Boot camp rules are not unlike those encountered by recruits in the armed services. The work ethic is stressed from dawn to nighttime, good grooming is required and restrictions include no smoking, no alcoholic beverages and limited recreational activities.

Kniest reported his agency's office of Planning, Research and Evaluation is establishing a system to evaluate its effectiveness and determine what steps should be taken to increase its use. The Department of Criminal Justice at Southeast Missouri State University at Cape Girardeau has been retained to provide consulting assistance.