QUESTION 1:
Recently, the Queensland Government discontinued the use of court-referred youth conferencing, choosing instead to pursue other options for youth offenders. One of these options is the use of boot camps, which has been controversial in other places such as the United States. In Queensland, there is strong media and public support for these camps.
Conduct research into the use of youth boots camps in other countries, and address the following questions:
1. What other places than Australia have these camps generally been used? What is their background and why have they been popular?
2. Have these camps generally been effective in reducing youth offending? What criteria have been used to determine effectiveness?
3. It is possible to ascertain whether or not these camps are cost-effective in reducing offending?
4. Following your findings, what criminological theory/ies best explain why this type of youth intervention either is, or is not, effective in reducing youth offending?
5. What is their likely outcome/success in Queensland, based on your findings?
