This report provides information on the type of offender attending Pennsylvania’s Motivational Boot Camp Program, which is located in Quehanna, a rural part of Clearfield County.  Specifically, the report tracks offenders from 1992-1997 who are: 1) statutorily eligible for Boot Camp; 2) recommended by the judge for participation in the Boot Camp; and 3) admitted into the Boot Camp by the Department of Corrections.  The report also includes the findings from the first survey of Pennsylvania Boot Camp graduates concerning their perceptions of the Boot Camp and parole aftercare. Below is a summary of the major findings in the report:
 

• Between 1992 and 1997 there were 1,296 offenders admitted to the Motivational Boot Camp Program.  The Boot Camp Program has a high graduation rate with 77% successfully completing the program.   About 16% of the offenders voluntarily withdrew and 8% were removed from the program.

• Statewide, judges recommended about 18% of the statutorily eligible offenders to the Boot Camp Program.  The Department of Corrections admitted about 56% of the offenders who were recommended by judges.

• Most offenders who were admitted into the Boot Camp Program came from Philadelphia [21%] and Allegheny [10%] counties.

• The majority of offenders admitted to Boot Camp had been convicted of drug offenses [59%] followed by burglary [12%] and theft offenses [9%].

• The majority of offenders admitted to Boot Camp were black [52%], male [96%] and 25 years of age or younger [66%].

• The 1996 legislative change to the Boot Camp eligibility criteria resulted in a 15% increase in the pool of eligible offenders during 1997 [n=275].  This increase was primarily the result of the change allowing offenders receiving up to a three-year minimum sentence to be eligible for Boot Camp after serving one year in prison.  Previously, only offenders receiving a minimum sentence no longer than two years were eligible.

• A survey of 1997 Boot Camp graduates found that most respondents felt that Boot Camp was a positive influence in their lives [82%].  Further, differences were found among those offenders who recidivated vs. those who did not in that non-recidivists were significantly more likely to report a favorable experience in the community on parole and less likely to associate with the same friends since release from the Boot Camp