The slogan "forward not back" is considered empty and devoid of meaning. On the other hand, the phrase "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" indicates an obsession with anti-social behavior, crime and punishment. As a result, Britain imprisons more people than other democracies. This fixation is also evident in the TV series Brat Camp, aired on Channel 4, which depicts Utah cowboys using a harsh disciplinary approach to correct the behavior of seven badly behaved British teenagers.
It is worth noting that the children sent to Brat Camp do not necessarily come from impoverished backgrounds. They all appear to hail from comfortable, middle-class homes and have caring, thoughtful parents. However, something has gone gravely wrong. For instance, Josh, who is 15 years old, speaks about smoking marijuana and getting furious enough to stab his father, who he has a history of violently assaulting. His father, Sean, says that Josh punches him in the head without hesitation, and he always lives in fear of his son’s next move. Alex is another 15-year-old who seems to have a similar lack of control over her behavior. In particular, she finds no reason to drink unless she can get completely inebriated. She also brags about her anti-social activities, including throwing and smashing things. Alex’s mother, Lisa, struggles to keep her in control.
Desperate to turn them into decent humans, Josh’s and Alex’s parents, along with five other teenagers, send them to Turn About Ranch in Utah. The ranch runs 90-day courses that cost £15,000 and follow a strict regimen aimed at restoring socially acceptable boundaries for youth who have lost their sense of right and wrong. The ranch is also a working ranch, with students spending time at the frontier-like Roundy Camp, which includes a log cabin, barn, and chicken house. The executive director of the ranch, Max Stewart, embodies the ranch’s tough approach. He was a cattleman and farmer before serving in the US army as a military policeman and a drill sergeant. According to him, the program is built to strip rebellious, selfish, undisciplined, and defiant teens of their old defenses and attitudes and replace them with better ones.
The rules are strict, and students must wake up at 6.30 am, complete various chores by 8.30 am, and refrain from smoking, drinking alcohol, or swearing. They must also ask for permission before doing anything, and their appearance is strictly controlled. Girls must wear their hair in a ponytail, and boys must remain clean-shaven. Consequences are put in place for bad behavior, including stricter rules and earlier wake-up times.
Parents have limited contact with their children and may attend a two-day counseling session midway through the program. While some people regard this as bullying, Chris Fudge, a co-director, disagrees and argues that the strict rules teach teenagers that good behavior is rewarded and help them understand the importance of living thoughtfully, particularly within a family context.
Fudge elucidates their aim of creating healthier young adults through instilling traditional Christian values of honesty, openness, respect, teamwork, and accountability to empower their students. The ultimate goal is to develop a positive, responsible, and cooperative attitude among the students that would prepare them to thrive within their family, community, school, and society. The team is comprised of licensed social worker Mr. Stewart, alongside other teachers and counselors, who provide emotional support to balance out the strict code of conduct in line with their mission statement.
At first glance, these aspirations may seem idealistic, but the project has shown significant progress since its inception in 2000, having expanded from 24 to 37 students per program by 2004, and currently handling around 130 teenagers annually. The success rate for rehabilitating troubled teens was estimated at around 80%, including nine students from the UK last year. Channel 4 and the ranch refuse to disclose whether the seven British participants in the Brat Camp program reverted to their old habits or underwent a positive transformation, leaving the viewers to wait for the conclusion of the five-part series.
Daniel Lee oversees the revisions and editing of the Brat Camp website.
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