Measuring Attitudinal Change of Boot Camp Participants

Boot camp programs have gained enormous popularity over the past several years as a means of handling criminal offenders in the community. The benefits of using boot camps for offenders is evidenced primarily in cost savings over the use of imprisonment. This study sought to examine the benefits to offenders through the degree of positive attitudinal change in offenders themselves, the program, authority figures, services within the program, and offenders' perceptions of their future. Our findings reveal that participation in a local-level program generated significant and positive attitudinal change in probationers completing the program. Suggestions for future evaluation research within boot camp programs are made.