IntroductionJuvenile delinquency is a relatively new phenomenon. For this reason, society's reactions and solutions to the problem of crime are also modern developments. The United States developed the first juvenile court in 1899 and is now home to many new and previously untested methods of juvenile rehabilitation and correction. One of many unique programs within the juvenile justice system, boot camps are institutions designed to keep juvenile delinquents out of traditional detention facilities and still provide a structured method of punishment and rehabilitation. Boot camps developed in the early 1990s and rapidly proliferated across the nation. Specifically, these are “…short-term residential programs modeled after military basic training facilities” (Meade & Steiner, 2010). Designed with the goal of reducing recidivism and preventing violent crime, the boot camps are aimed at nonviolent individuals under the age of 18 and typically exclude already violent offenders. In theory, boot camps arrest juveniles committing minor delinquencies and prevent more serious crimes by “giving the juvenile delinquent a more optimistic, community-oriented perspective” (Ravenell, 2002). Basically, boot camps have four central purposes; rehabilitation, punishment, deterrence and cost control (Muscar, 2008). Boot Camps: Creation and Development While quasi-military correctional facilities are a form of social control that society has used for hundreds of years, modern boot camps have a very short history. In 1974, the United States enacted the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (hereinafter JJDPA). The act contained four central mandates: first, the status of offenders, young people who commit crimes who… halfway through the document… matic review of evidence. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 841-853. Muscar, J. (2008). Supporting an end to juvenile boot camps: Why the military model doesn't belong in the juvenile justice system. UC Davis Journal of Juvenile Law and Policy, 12(1), 2-50.Ravenell, T. E. (2002). Left, left, left, right left: The search for rights and remedies in juvenile boot camps. The Colombia Journal of Law and Social Problems, 35(4), 347-371.Shoemaker, D. J. (2009). Juvenile delinquency. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Tyler, J., Darville, R., & Stalnaker, K. (2001). Youth boot camps: A descriptive analysis of program diversity and effectiveness. The Social Science Journal, 38, 445-460. Wiatrowski, M. D., Griswold, D. B., & Roberts, M. K. (1981). Social control theory and delinquency. American Sociological Review, 46(5), 525-541.