We know Boot Camps don't work, so why are we pushing forward with them?

The evidence, experts, and voice of lived experience are stacked against them, so, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, why are we funneling money into such a risky experiment?

Photo by Fer Troulik on Unsplash

The evidence is clear, Boot Camps are largely ineffective in reducing offending. 

According to the research, these programs just don't work to reduce reoffending. And in the cases where slight success is seen, it rarely lasts, and is because of the therapeutic support and services offered, with the military aspect of these programs often identified as working against the therapeutic and healing mahi our young people need.

Which of course begs the question, why progess with the military program at all?

I have a range of concerns about the implementation of these programs, but alongside the program lacking a clear evidential base, I am also concerned about these Boot Camps sucking up resources we require in the community to do that critical mahi needed to prevent harm from occuring in the first place. 

We know why these children are causing harm within our communities. 

We know that the majority of these kids have suffered trauma from abuse, neglect and poverty. A large percentage will have disabilities and will be suffering from mental ill-health. We know that the harmful behaviour often arises directly from the environments and circumstances these kids find themselves in.

Of course, when a young person causes harm in our communities, we need to respond appropriately to this. And we also know that what works is responding to the needs of those young people while providing them with the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions. 

Simple things like ensuring each young person has a safe place to live, food on the table, and a community to love and support them through what they’re facing are vital, especially if we are serious about giving that young person a chance at meeting the expectations society places on them.

Of course there is a current reality where - due to our current societal failure to adequately care for these young people - that there are some rangatahi who are not safe to live within our community.

In those cases, we do need alternative options, and from a Youth Development perspective, what we know works, is small, family-like settings, which are connected in proximity to local communities and which are informed by Youth Development and focused on the building of  therueaptic environments.

But, we know all this. There are reports filling the Bee Hive to the brim discussing what we know of these young people, their needs, and what interventions work to support them and realize justice.

So, why are we pushing forward with an idea which badly lacks an evidencial mandate?

Politics, right?

I am not naive to the political realities that politicians must work with. The Government made a promise while they were in opposition, now, they are obliged to keep it. To take on new information, reassses and alter course, well in our current political climate, that often seems like an impossibility. Thats the reality. And yet, there is another reality which is too often lost in the haze of all our political games.

A human reality.

The reality that children, who we know are some of our most structurally vulnerable and marginalized within our society, children who have suffered trauma, abuse, poverty, homelessness, who struggle with mental illness and disabilities, children who suffer because of our collective irresponsibility, are the ones who will be most affected by this decision.

It may be true that the Government is not going to be moved by this, but I think it's important the public are clear. 

In a cost of living crisis, where we are being asked to count every penny, and cut every second dollar, the Government is investing in experimenting with a program which has decades of research behind it - both national and international - outlining it's ineffectiveness.

Instead of investing that money where we know it can be most effective, we are pouring it into experimenting with a program we already know is ineffective.

Much has been said about this being about sending a message, balancing the scales, and responding to those who have been harmed.

But, those who have been harmed by crime deserve to know the truth. When we ignore the evidence, everyone loses. 

Because, if we ignore the evidence, ignore reality, and react out of fear and emotion, than we will fail to address the reasons behind this offending. And as a result, we will fail to stop it from continuing.

And it is both our young people and our communities that will suffer.

We can do more for our young peope, and before we jump up and down and demand our children take personal responsibility for their actions, I'd ask us to consider, what is our collective responsibility for these kids?

What responsibility do we have for these kids, who've grown up without adequately housing, lived in extreme poverty, who have suffered abuse, mental illness, are dealing with addictions and disabilities and lack the support they require to be safe, let alone thrive?

Punishment doesn't bring healing.

And if we want results, we need to look at the evidence, and stop reacting to crime and begin responding to what works.

#LoveIsTheWay

A.J. Hendry is a Laidlaw College graduate, and a Youth Development Worker and rangatahi advocate, working in the Youth Housing and Homelessness space. He leads Kick Back, a service supporting rangatahi experiencing homelessness and is also an advocate working collectively to end youth homelessness in Aotearoa. He is also the curator and creator of When Lambs Are Silent.