Impact of Boot Camp Eligibility Criteria

Offenders who are Statutorily Ineligible for Boot Camp

As indicated in this report, statute requires that in order to be considered for Boot Camp, the offender must: 1) be sentenced to a state prison, 2) receive a minimum sentence that does not exceed two years and a maximum sentence that does not exceed five years or receive a minimum sentence that does not exceed three years and is within two years of serving the minimum sentence, 3) be under 35 years of age, and 4) not have a conviction for one of the excluded offenses.

Table 1a shows how these factors influence the Boot Camp eligibility status of offenders sentenced statewide. While the remaining portion of this report is based upon offenders, the data in Table 1a reflect sentences. Specifically, the data reflect the percentage of sentences that did not meet the eligibility criteria for the most serious offense per transaction. The percentages reflect how many offenders would be excluded on the basis of each criterion independently. The data indicate that the most important factor excluding an offender from eligibility is not receiving a state prison sentence [83%] while current conviction offense is the criterion least responsible for exclusion [5%].

Table 1a. Statewide Sentences that Do Not Meet the Statutory Eligibility Criteria
for Boot Camp [1992-1997

Impact of 1996 Legislative Change to Eligibility

As indicated in the beginning of the report, the legislature changed the Boot Camp eligibility criteria, effective for offenders sentenced on or after September 3, 1996. Table 1b shows the impact of this legislative change for offenders sentenced during 1997 by showing the difference in the number of offenders who would have been eligible under the previous criteria in comparison to the number eligible under the revised criteria. While the changes to the eligibility criteria worked to both increase [e.g. offenders with longer sentences becoming eligible] and decrease [e.g. more offenses being excluded] the potential pool of Boot Camp candidates, the overall impact of the revised criteria resulted in 275 more offenders becoming eligible for Boot Camp. The greatest impact was in the number of offenders who became eligible because of the change in the minimum sentence [n=363 offenders], which previously required that offenders receive a minimum sentence not exceeding two years. Under the revised legislation offenders are eligible for Boot Camp if they receive a minimum

sentence under three years, but must be within two years of completing their minimum sentence prior to going to Boot Camp. While the legislation expanded the pool of Boot Camp candidates via changes to the sentence length imposed, it also reduced the pool by adding six offenses to the list of ineligible offenses [n=144 offenders]. In addition, the revised legislation now excludes offenders who receive the deadly weapon enhancement under the sentencing guidelines, which reduced the pool by 39 offenders who otherwise would have been eligible.

Table 2a. Impact of 1996 Legislative Changes to Boot Camp Eligibility Criteria.

*There were no changes to the criteria relevant to the person being sentenced to
state confinement and being age 35 or younger.

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