SUSSEX BOOT CAMP
Route 113
Georgetown, DE 19947
(302) 856-5280
Commander: Major Melvin Hennessy
In 1982, Delaware prisons held 1,500 inmates. Just 15 years later, the state's prison population had more than tripled to 5,209. This dramatic population growth in Delaware prisons prompted officials to seek alternatives to traditional incarceration--and to recognize that traditional incarceration was not the most appropriate correctional placement for many offenders. As an alternative to traditional prisons, Delaware opened its first Boot Camp in April 1997.
While criminals, especially violent offenders, should serve their sentences in a no-frills environment, the Boot Camp can turn around some offenders before they become career criminals. This is the goal of the Sussex Boot Camp.
Located within the Sussex Correctional Institution (SCI) in Georgetown, Delaware, the $3.7 million Boot Camp opened April 15, 1997. Thirty inaugural offenders (28 men and 2 women) were transferred from various Department of Correction facilities. The Sussex Boot Camp houses 100 cadets, 90 men and 10 women. Men and women are segregated from each other; housed at opposite ends of the Boot Camp building.
The Boot Camp provides military-style discipline through a highly regimented routine of physical exercise, education, substance-abuse treatment and community service. It is focused on behavior modification and rehabilitation of young offenders.
The Sussex Boot Camp is a six-month program divided into three phases. The first focuses on military-style discipline and life skills, the second on drug treatment and community service work and the third on job-seeking and re-integration skills.
The staff is made up of experienced corrections professionals. Each staff member successfully completed the U.S. Army's Boot Camp training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The staff also trained at the New York Department of Correction's renowned Lakeview Boot Camp for inmates. 16 of the 26 Boot Camp staffers have U.S. military backgrounds.
State law dictates the type of offender eligible for placement in the Sussex Boot Camp. When the Boot Camp opened in 1997, only inmates serving sentences for non-violent crimes or probation violations (if the initial offense was non-violent) were eligible. In July 1997, legislation was enacted to allow certain first-time drug offenders to participate in the Boot Camp.
Participation in community service is a large part of the Boot Camp experience. Cadets spend thousands of hours working in communities across Delaware every year. In Fiscal Year 2002, Boot Camp cadets performed 32,432 hours of community service. Cadets worked for churches, municipalities, fire departments, schools, social service organizations and state parks, just to name a few. Labor provided by Boot Camp cadets in FY '02 is valued at $199,456.
Visitation Rules/Procedures
The Sussex Boot Camp is a six-month program. Cadets at the Sussex Boot Camp are divided into three platoons. Cadets in the Entry Level Platoon have been in the program for two months or less. Cadets in the Intermediate Platoon are in the 3rd and 4th months of the program. Cadets in the Senior Platoon are in the 5th and 6th months of the program.
Cadets in the Entry Level Platoon are not permitted visits or phone calls. Cadets at this stage must use the first two months to become acclimated with the program and its policies and procedures.
Cadets in the Intermediate Platoon are permitted one, 45-minute visit every two weeks. These visits are non-contact. In weeks where they do not have a visit, they are permitted to make one telephone call.
Cadets in the Senior Platoon are permitted one, 1-hour visit every two weeks. These visits are contact. In weeks where they do not have a visit, cadets are permitted to make one telephone call.
Visits take place on Saturdays and Sundays. Visits for the Intermediate Platoon take place at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Visits for the Senior Platoon take place at 1:30 p.m.
Appointments for visits are scheduled between an 8-day period that runs from Monday to Wednesday. For example, if a Saturday falls on the 25th, calls will be accepted from Monday the 13th through Wednesday the 22nd. Calls will be accepted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. To make an appointment, call 302-856-5287.
Inmate Mail Address
Inmate Name
Sussex Boot Camp
P.O. Box 500
Georgetown, DE 19947
