National's justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says if necessary, young offenders could wear ankle bracelets under a National government.
National is re-releasing its past policy idea of boot camps for youth offenders.
Chief science advisor Sir Peter Gluckman in a past report on youth offending said boot camps don't work and have high recidivism, citing local and international evidence.
Goldsmith told Checkpoint he has respect for Gluckman but "he's not the sole source of wisdom on every topic".
He could not say what National's measure of success for boot camps would be.