Book review: The Evidence Enigma: Correctional Boot Camps and Other Failures in Evidence-Based Policy Making
| Author | Len Cheston |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550513512746a |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU) would define as the extreme right wing and with
which there is a regular exchange of ideas and members from the far right, but this is
a minor point and does not detract from a fascinating read.
The Evidence Enigma: Correctional
Boot Camps and Other Failures in
Evidence-Based Policy Making
Tiffany Bergin
Ashgate; 2013; pp 226; £49.50, hbk
ISBN 978-140944409
Reviewed by: Len Cheston, Senior Community Services Manager,
NOMS
A study that looks at the failure of evidence based policy making would appear to
be a timely addition to probation literature at the time of the Transforming Rehabi-
litation project. The book looks at the growth of boot camps across the United States
that was followed by an equally quick decline in their usage.
The book is a doctrinal thesis written by the author whilst studying at the the
Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge; it looks predominantly at the
experience in the United States. The book is written primarily for an academic
audience but has enough discussion to keep the practitioner or manager interested.
The book looks to explore evidence based policy making. It has seven chapters
that explore thestrengths and weakness of academicwork on policy making, a cross
US examination of the growth of boot camps; chapters that look at the academic
theory and the growth of boot camps; a casestudy of Illinois and New Jersey withan
examination of the research implications. The book has a very extensive reference
section and includes a list of boot camp developments across the United States.
The author sets the tone for the growth of boot camps by highlighting some of the
key policy drivers behind this, such as reducing prison costs, reduction of the prison
population and contribution to reducing re-offending. Bergin highlights that there
was little evidence to support these policy drivers, yet boot camps grew quickly
across the United States. The author reflects on the political atmosphere at the time
when there was a focus on greater punishment for drug users.
In two chapters, perhaps aimed at an academic audience, the author looks at the
use of evidence for policy making. She highlights work that has looked at how the
agenda setting process works and explores how policy makers coalesced around a
single solution such as boot camps. Linked to this is an examination of the role of
populist criminal justice policies in winning elections.
The author develops the theories into a research methodology which is set out in
Chapter 5. This is the heart of the book. It is a complex chapter that explores the
Book Reviews 447
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