HC Deb 08 May 1996 vol 277 cc166-7W
Mr. Alex Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means he will evaluate the effectiveness of the boot camp experiment; and if he will make a statement. [27923]

Miss Widdecombe

[holding answer 7 May 1996]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 8 May 1996: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the means used to evaluate the effectiveness of the boot camp experiment. We will assess changes in the attitudes and behaviour of the young offenders sent to Colchester young offender institution and the high intensity training centre at Thorn Cross young offender institution. We will also monitor re-convictions after release. The results will be compared with those from a control group of similar young offenders who will experience conventional young offender institution regimes.

Mr. Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research is available within the Prison Service on the probable reconviction rates from the high impact or boot camp regimes; and if he will make a statement. [27926]

Miss Widdecombe

[holding answer 7 May 1996]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 8 May 1996: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about research available within the Prison Service on the probable reconviction rates from the high impact or boot camp regimes. The two initiatives which we have announced, namely High Intensity Training and Colchester young offender institution, are both pilots. They themselves will be providing evidence of the effectiveness of the new approaches adopted, and there are no directly parallel initiatives to provide evidence at present on likely reconviction rates. There is limited relevance in research on other schemes. Copies of readily available published research into American boot camps were placed in the Library of the House last year. I must stress however that our two regimes are not copies of American boot camps.