Boot Camps Intermediate Sanctions Gender Equality Correction

Boot camps, which are forms of intermediate sanctions, are correctional options that were established as different sanctions to reduce operational costs, reduce prison population, and relapse in crime (Wells, 2003). Boot camps provide offenders with activities aimed at reducing their free time. The said activities are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; manual labor, drill activities, basic training, and other physical exercises. It would be prudent to note that in Wyoming, such camps are only offered to men whereas they discriminate on women (Pevar, 2017). For this reason, female offenders often file legal complaints to courts claiming that the said alternatives tend to discriminate against them. This is more so the case given that such sanctions tend to have correctional options that are less severe than prisons. Completing boot camp happens to take less time compared to incarceration. Essentially, completing a boot camp may take as less as six months (Pevar, 2017). It is important to note that allowing women to be taken to boot camps will have both advantages and disadvantages.

Allowing female offenders to attend boot camps instead of prison happens to be helpful for various reasons. To start with, boot camps are well structured - which would provide safer environments for female offenders (Wells, 2003). Secondly, the behavior and attitudes of female offenders would improve if permitted to boot camps. Research shows that boot camps were successful in changing behavior and attitudes and inmates. Essentially, graduates from boot camps had improved standardized reading and math scores, social support, increased coping and problem solving skills, reduced anti-social attitudes, and increased self-esteem (Wells, 2003).

On the other hand, boot camps may not be appropriate to most female offenders. For instance, Boot Camps and Shock Incarceration (2021) indicates that early periods in the boot camps involves rules and rapid orders. First, entering such facilities would require that females be given short haircuts. This may lead to mental stress among certain women. Second, boot camps involve drilling activities whereby drill instructors give rapid and harsh drilling rules to offenders (Boot Camps and Shock Incarceration, 2021). It is important to note that some women may not be able to perform such drilling activities as a consequence of the physical stress involved. In addition, permitting female offenders to boot camps would only mean that they would be combined with men. Moreover, only few female offenders are likely to be allowed in boot camps. As a consequence, women taken to such camps have a higher chance of experiencing sexual abuse. In essence, owing to the physiological and physiological differences between men and women, boot camps are likely to be harsher and more difficult for certain categories of women to cope. For this reason, most women may be dismissed from boot camps owing to failures in the program. Boot camps may also not be effective correction facilities to most women given that they tend to discriminate against women in terms of appropriate programming and early release.