Seventeen cocky teenagers are about to get a wakeup call. They’re locked inside Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, with a group of inmates who call themselves the “Lifers.” These are guys doing 25 years to life for serious crimes like murder and armed robbery. Their job is to scare these troubled kids away from a life of crime by showing them the reality and the horror of prison. They call the program “Scared Straight!” For the next few hours, the Lifers will yell and curse at these kids. They push them around and get in their faces. The intimidation tactics include physical threats and descriptions of prison rape in painful and explicit detail. The Lifers do everything they can to scare these kids into never coming back.
Now Scared Straight! is making a comeback as a dramatic and in-your-face weekly series on the A&E cable network in a new series called Beyond Scared Straight. This time the show features children and prison inmates around the country. It debuts January 13. Many child advocates and juvenile justice experts are alarmed to see it return. They point to numerous research studies that show the traditional Scared Straight style of intervention doesn’t work, and they are organizing to educate the public and policy-makers about what they believe is a bad program that may do more harm than good.
Some heavy hitters in the juvenile justice field are sounding the alarm. Joe Vignati, the National Juvenile Justice Specialist on the Executive Board of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, says the Scared Straight approach is a waste of money. Vignati, who also heads Justice Programs at the Governor’s Office for Children and Families in Georgia, warns, “It is more likely to create kids who are going to get in trouble.”
Vignati lays out his case against Scared Straight in his commentary at JJIE.org
Juvenile crime expert John Wilson agrees, calling Scared Straight programs “criminogenic.” He spent 28 years at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice, first as legal counsel, then as Deputy Administrator. He’s now a crime consultant to law enforcement, and serves on the editorial board for the Juvenile & Family Court Journal.
“I will watch the program with trepidation,” says Wilson. “But I hope people will get the facts and see that the research is clear that Scared Straight is a failed program that does more harm than good.”
The original Oscar-winning film Scared Straight! was a phenomenal success in theaters and on television in the late Seventies. It won several Emmy awards, and spurred the release of four sequels that checked in on the progress of the original 17 kids. Filmed in New Jersey's Rahway State Prison, Scared Straight! inspired similar intervention projects across the country. The director and producer, Arnold Shapiro, says the programs are helping troubled kids turn their lives around. In Shapiro’s films, 14 of the 17 kids said the experience changed them, and they vowed to stay out of prison.
Shapiro is also producing the new show, and says it is different from the original. "This is not a reality show, this is pure documentary. You never know what's going to happen. You get an array of reactions." He adds, “There is more talking. Hours of talking."
He goes on to explain how children were recruited for the show. "We didn't choose the kids, they were chosen by youth counselors. There are two kinds: at-risk, who are beginning or entry-level criminals -- drugs, drink, shoplifting, that kind of thing. Then there are criminally-active kids who have been arrested before."
The Washington-based Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), a national nonprofit group that advises federal and state policy-makers as well as the OJJDP, is not convinced of the value. The Coalition is troubled by the apparent revival of Scared Straight! and the influence the TV show might have on local communities. CJJ Deputy Director Tara Andrews says, “There is a concern because states are in a pinch for money right now and they are looking for low-cost solutions, even if they have a low impact. Scared Straight programs feel intuitively good but the research doesn’t bear that out.”
“The research has shown Scared Straight to be at best ineffective and at worst counter-effective,” Andrews adds. “I’m disappointed to see this approach given such a positive profile. Scared Straight has long been discredited.”
A review of ten studies by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) bears that out. The review found traditional Scared Straight programs to not only be ineffective at helping kids turn their lives around, they actual “increase the likelihood that participants will commit crimes,” according to WSIPP Senior Research Associate Elizabeth Drake.
“This is the only program we reviewed that actually increases crime,” Drake says.
A similar review of nine studies by the Campbell Collaboration, an international research network that regularly reviews research on crime and justice, social welfare, and education, also found Scared Straight interventions to be a poor choice for communities seeking solutions for crime prevention.
“What these studies show is that in the aggregate, more kids were hurt by Scared Straight than helped by it,” says Dr. Anthony Petrosino, who co-authored the Campbell Collaboration review.
A review of Scared Straight studies by Anthony J. Schembri, former Secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, adds, “Exposure to the prison/jail environment as well as to inmates themselves may serve as a desensitizing factor thus making the possibility of incarceration for future offenses less threatening, thereby eliminating any deterrent effect the thought of prison may have served.”
Wilson puts it another way. He warns the children involved in the production are at risk. “These are not actors,” he says. “These are real kids put into an abusive and frightening setting. Many are going to be traumatized. Others, the hard core delinquents, will actually think it is pretty cool. They will identify with the prisoners. They think: I’m tough. I can fit. And then they brag about the experience to their friends.”
Shapiro, Beyond Scared Straight’s producer, isn’t buying it. He argues that trials such as the ones reviewed by the WSIPP and the Campbell Collaboration are no substitute for the direct observation that he has done.
“Academic studies don’t work,” Shapiro says. “It’s all about follow-up. I’ve done more follow-up than anyone. Scared Straight: 20 Years Later is the longest study ever done.”
“The kids in Beyond Scared Straight are chosen by youth counselors, teachers, family members. If these people saw no results they would stop doing it,” Shapiro adds. “The kids show an array of reactions in the prison. But they didn’t just walk out and forget about it.”
He goes on to explain, "We talk to the kids on a weekly basis, sometimes up to a year after filming, before we lock the final edit. We checked in with them and they were doing just fine."
Shapiro also admits that Scared Straight shouldn’t necessarily be the first choice for those seeking to help troubled kids. “It’s a last resort. Counselors will tell you it’s a valuable tool in an arsenal of tools,” he says.
Beyond Scared Straight is getting heavy promotion on the A&E Network and online. It is expected to draw a significant audience, despite multiple research studies and warnings from juvenile crime experts. John Wilson cautions viewers who might try to revive local Scared Straight programs to be careful to avoid violating federal law. Under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), kids in custody must be separated from adult inmates and removed from adult prisons; status offenders should not be locked up at all. Any community starting a local Scared Straight program that brings kids in custody to an adult prison, even for educational purposes, could risk losing federal funding for juvenile justice programs statewide.
The A&E Network is apparently refusing to talk about the new show . Despite repeated attemps over the past week, no one has returned our calls.
5 years ago i inquired about a program scared straight with the pueblo colorado police dept. and judges for my son. i was told that programs like that do not exist any more. i was extremely disappointed because i felt my son could have profited from that experience. my son ended up spending some time in jail. he is now 20 and still says that jail is a place he does not want to be. i wish that there were programs for him back then. am glad to see this up and running again and hope more kids will get to experience this before going to jail.
many praises to the staff and the prisoners for doing this program.
God Bless You All,
sharlene
My brothers and sister need this. I’m tired of my mom struggle with they’re behavior. Please help them.
I’m trying to get help with my 12 year old girl she really needs help she lies talk back fights her sister talk back to me and her mom goes online to talk to guys older guys she lies and tell them she 20 years old when she only 12 I’m so worryed that something may happen to her if she does not get help can you please help she also take things in the house and lies sayin she didin take it
I have a friend who seriously needs this program. I wish this was an option in Canada.
My former friend Reagan is 13 and needs to attend the READY PROGRAM in Richland County, South Carolina. Her mom may not agree, but when she is around me, she is constantly telling me to go. She is disrespectful to me. She really needs this program. My other friend, Avanel, who is 14, sneaks out of the house late at night. I’m worried someone may hurt her. Both of them need a jail tour.
i have a son who need that prgram i want to know availability of clases time and fees thanks.
I have a brother that needs ur program hes 13
*once = ones.
Please excuse me but this article is just ridiculous. Oh no, you tried to contact producers and they didn’t answer so you wrote this crap to release your frustration cause someone ignored you, is that right? Now about the program itself – Who the hell cares about some dumb punks (like street fighter Ashley) who after the jail visit still think (or rather not) they can gang bang and sell drugs on the streets and have a successful life?? This program is about kids like Brandi or Cassandra or others who made the REAL change, who actually started thinking about what they’re doing to their families and themselves. It’s about saving the once who deserve – not arrogant knuckleheads with no brain who clearly don’t. This is what really matters here.
I think just need go old school and start knocking these kids out
I completely agree. They may not have Beyond Scared Straight on the A and E app anymore. But I handle the kids myself by yelling in their ear, making them do physical exercise and doing whatever I have to do to get my friends on the right path. If you think back to Kayvyun from Beyond Scared Straight, she was defiant to all the officers during the Ready Program in Richland County, South Carolina. This is what Reagan needs officers yelling in her face. Unfortunately, that won’t happen so the other option is for me to yell in her face.
I have to laugh at all the inmates that say they never had the opportunities these kids did to go to college and blah blah blah. These idiots had the same opportunities, they just chose a life of crime instead. Do you think all these kids are rich and can afford college and get great jobs right out of the gate? No of course not. So using that as a tactic is stupid and pathetic.
I have a 13 yr old son and I cant take his ways and action. Ive been looking for a good and affordable boot camps to send him too. I need help asap, I dont want to loose him in the streets. He dont want to go to school but just want to run the streets. Ive tryed to reason with him even have long conversation with him and it just goes in one ear and out the other. Please help me.
my 15 year old daughter is out of control. 10 times between in school and out of school she has been suspended within the first 3 months of school. she talks back and has an anger problem. she got so mad has punched the glass in my kitchen door and broke it i had to rush her to the hospital because it was so much blood. she has been in 2 fight this year. i am begging you to please help me she needs this because she keeps down this road she will end up dead or being kicked out of school.
I’m a Soldier stationed in Fort Bragg, NC. I am from Raleigh, NC I have 15yr old cousin that smokes weed, get suspended all the time talks back to his mom and sneaks in and out of the house. I’m trying to find out a way to sign him up for this program. I want to get my hands on him but my aunt protects him from me so I seen this show and thought this would be the best thing for him. So if you can send me the requirements for this I will gladly bring him. Thanks
Sergeant First Class D. Harley
US Army
I think the likelihood is that many kids in this program are one of the %1 of the population that have borderline personality disorders, and while many young people going through Scared Straight will be afraid if jail as a result, those kids who are psychopaths realize that jail is an environment they will flourish in and will be in a “jungle” environment where their violence and selfishness will be rewarded.
Hi,i have a brother that is 19 years old!He really needs help.He is always fighting and talking back.My other sister,my mom and dad are tireed of it.My brother got kicked from two schools already.He needs help.He also does drugs andI worried.The whole family is.Please help me.I’m begging you.He needs help!!!
My two kids are spiralling out of controll, cant go to work without worring what my son will do next, and my daughter has a direspect problem that you wouldnt even be able to handle, I recently went thru a divorce and i try to give my kids the best I can but they refuse to be civilized and NOBODY wants them around and I can not have any kind of a relationship with anyone due to the disrespect they have. My son says if I was to send him to boot camp he would just tell them to f off and he would he is only 1`2 and my daughter is 13 with a chip on her shoulder a block long!! Please can you send me some help ???
I have a 15 year old son who in the past year has went from a quiet, well mannered, well liked child to a stranger to me. He hasnt went to school in about 2 months and before that it was hit and miss to what he attended. He cant seem to hold a job for more than a week. He comes and goes as he pleases, he will not respect the cerfews I set for him and sometimes is gone for days on end. He has started smoking and he has admitted to smoking weed. I am scared he is also using other drugs. He doesnt listen to anyone and if we try and talk to him he just leaves. I dont want to throw him out of the house but just dont know what to do. I have asked the police and school what I can do and they all tell me there is nothing legally I can do. I cant make him do anything they tell me. His behavior is taking it’s toll on me. I just dont know where to turn. Is there something out there to help parents in my situation who do not want to give up on their child.
My 5year old daughter is the devil she hits me and doeznt eat her food …i cant control her shes outta her mind …she carrys guns and has just joind a gang they call her the pupett master …help me plz
My daughter is 15 years of age. She is very smart and is an all around athlete. However, she is very troubled, withdrawn, angry and defiant. She has gotten a tatoo, tongue and belly button piercing all w/out my consent. She is skipping classes and her grades are slipping, she is in all honors classes, but acts like she doesnt care any more. She is very mean to her little sisters. Its like she doesnt love them at all. She has also keyed my stepfather’s car, threw away all his meds in the toilet, as well as spiked his hawaiin punch w/windex. Please help me out w/scaring her straight.
to whom it may concern:
i have a 13 year old daoughter who thinks she growner than me she doesnt listen to any thing i tell her to do,she curses tell me she hates me and that i get on her nerve shes rude and disrespectful, i think yhis show could really help her.PLEASE PLEASE HELP MY WITH THIS TROUBLED LITTLE GIRL
To whom it may concern,
My little brother is 17, and in desperate need for help. He is 17, drinks, smokes weed, has sex, disrespectful, and gets in a lot of fights. My mom is a single parent who tires to control him but is very busy trying to support him and her and pay all the bills. My dad recently had another frequent overdose that lead him to the ER which he almost died. My dad is seeking help now in another state staying with his sister. My brother even has a tattoo that he got without my mom’s approval at the age of 17 in texas. ( illegal) He is very smart, but has a barely get by attitude. I believe that he will really hurt someone one day and go to jail, and get a record. He does want to go to college to be a mechanic. Since my mom is not home often he does what he wants most of the time and no one knows where he is at. He gets in trouble with school for missing too many days. I have tired to talk to him ( I am a older sister with my own family and moved out long ago) but he seems to brush it off. I hope you consider him for his safety.
please help me my son has been putting me through this out of control roller coaster for six years now. he is always getting in trouble at school,getting suspended for not serving his detentions due to getting to classes late. says he only goes to school cause i want him to,wont listen to authority,pretty much thretans me by saying i’m not gonna go to school anymore,i know what i’m gonna do,you’ll see. i’m scared of him what he may do to hisself and someone else,he thinks there should be no discipline for his wrong doings cause he see’s no wrong being done. he’s been in and out of counseling since he was seven. i’m really worried what he may become. i really need your help this is my last resort i’ve run out of ideas. been in trouble with the law for fighting, i think he may even be smokind weed. try’s to leave every weekend to hang with friends i dont approve of but of course say’s it’s not them he’s hanging with. PLEASE HELP ME TO HELP HIM.
i need help with my son he do not listen to anyone he think’s everything is funny and talk’s back to everyone..
this sounds like my son all the way…
To whom it may concern, I live in Baltimore, Maryland. I really need help with my son, he is rude disrespectful to me and his sisters, his dad. He curses. I tell him to be home at 9pm and he comes in the house whenever he feels like it. He tells me that I’m getting on his fxxxxx nerves, I’m annoying him. It just goes on and on, he gets high and thinks it’s ok. Please help me. He me era says thank you until I make him. I really think that your program will help him. Please scare him straight for me, please help me I love my son very much. I don’t want him dead or in jail. Thank you for taking the time to listen.
I also need major help with my three nephews. One lives here in Jonesboro, GA (age 9yrs old) and two who lives El Paso, Texas (ages 11 & 13 yrs of age) Please help!!!!
I need hop to streightem my two kids out can u help
i truly believe that “Scared Straight” is a great program with great intentions, a lot of people say that the inmates yell and scream harsh things to the children,children hear a lot worse things these days on the street, and sometimes children need a wake-up call, i know in some neighborhoods in the philadelphia area, these children think jail is something to be proud of, parents need to have a way to get thru to these children that JAIL should not be an option in their life. I like the fact that the scared straight program gives parent that kind of outlet.
These programs are the best thing their is for these kids. I spent my teen years partying,getting arrested and it led to a serious drug addiction. I had every kind of counciling possible. Sending a troubled kid into a room with a person who has degrees of child psychology plastered on their wall thinking they understand why a kid does what they do, doesn’t help. A child/teen cannot relate to someone without any life experience whatsoever. If I had gone into a program like this and been able to see the enviroment of a prison and sit down and talk with a prisoner who understood my life,had gone through the same things I had and understood my feelings…..my life would have changed alot faster. Just because someone has experience behind a desk and in college it NEVER makes up for true life experience. These prison programs have already proven to do more GOOD than Harm from watching the show. 9/10 these kids get the message. I think it is wonderful and I am fully happy to pay for it with my tax dollars. Buerocrats need to realize they don’t understand the heart of the problem…those who ahve made the mistakes do, they are the only ones who can truly connect.
i would like to know how to get my child in beyond scared straight
For all you folks that think this show is so bad, you guys should take all these bad ass kids into your homes and raise them and then come back to us parents and tell us that we should not try every tactic we can to get our children on the right track. As I hear most of these kids have no respect for authority inside or outside our home because our system protects them for getting a simple spanking when they do wrong. Then I say drop off all the bad asses on the folks door steps that think this is not a good move.
I totally dont agree fully with the show either.. but I do feel like some trouble children especially at real young age should at least take a tour threw a Correctional facilty just to witness the living conditions. That alone with deter them away from crime. I feel like if America allowed parents to bring back some Traditional values back in the home,,Kids would be different.If my kids mess up major or minor they get in trouble. It also starts with the parent,If the parent actually plays the parent role and contributes 100% into their childs life, the child should be fine.If a parent raises their child by example instead of acting like children themselves(drinking,drugs,partying,not caring what there child does,etc…) then what do parents expect.Children these days,just like we did growing up need someone to show us that they care even if sometimes it is tough love. Why do you think your child chooses to run with gangs and the wrong crowd..because these groups show them attention and make your child feel like they are wanted!!!
This show has to be 100% fake because if it’s real it’s a PURE LAWSUIT waiting to happen. The way they SCREAM in these kids faces is 100% ILLEGAL and WRONG. The ACLU would have a FIELD DAY with the people behind Beyond Scared Straight IF it was real… This show HAS to be FAKE… There is no way a GOVERNMENT AGENCY would allow themselves to be filmed performing ILLEGAL ACTS against minors. Threatening Minors with violence and personal harm and even RAPE of a minor… GIVE ME A BREAK!!!
These shows are going TOO FAR. This is 100% ILLEGAL and needs to be STOPPED NOW.
It’s not fake. It’s 100% real. You ahve made it apparent you aren’t truly an attorney. do a little more research into parental consent and the laws and regulations passed to support these programs. idiot
are you kidding, have you seen this? threatening children with beatings and rape is clearly abusive..wth? if i did to my own child what they did to those kids, they would be removed. I agree that kids are blase about consequences, give them real consequences, not a show they are well aware is being filmed and is a great educational experience (for how to survive in prison). By the way, the heart warming moments where the prisoners bond with the kids will only further serve to make them comfortable and build affiliation with those in the system.
And that is real talk no lie I’ll show all of them up
Tougher kids than you have said the same thing and broken down in tears in this program. You are no different. You think you can do it….contact the show
I wish I was on this show that way I could show how much what y’all do don’t work. I’ll show them how real I really am.
I have a 15yr old Daughter that thinks she is bullet proof. She is in a violent relationship and hangs out with people that make her belive they are her bff’s. She has been sexually active since she was 11yrs old.Has got caught skipping school just enough not to get kicked out of school, but munipulates everyone around her to feel sorry for her.She smart and knows how to work the system. She got caught stealing today and basiclly smerked at the employee as if she didn’t even care. Shes laughed in cops faces, and thinks what she get away with is funny.. I’m at the end of my rope, and don’t know what else to do. She’s still a young girl and could still have a second chance at life, but i just don’t think i could do this alone.
Ms. Thompson, Why do you think your daughter is doing the things that she is doing? Have you tried taking her to therapy first?
I was somewhat like that as a teenager. I wasn’t sexually active and didn’t have any “BFFs”, but I did have a similar mindset where everything was vaguely hilarious and I couldn’t just put my finger on why. Though it most likely was a coping mechanism I adopted due to my less-than-stable home life. Respect for others based upon their position of authority was nil.
Fear tactics won’t yield any positive results. An attempt to provoke fear will be interpreted as a challenge to her bravado and will only strengthen her commitment to what’s been deemed undesirable behavior.
Therapy can be a great tool. As could medication alongside it if there’s something more behind the behavior than typical teen angst.
It may be a slow process and there may be unwanted relapses, but change can occur.
If you’re actually giving your real first name, don’t you think you’re compromising your family’s anonymity? Wow!
I became a widow in 1999 and raised 3 children on my own. My middle child which is a boy who became notorious as a juvenile delinquent for all of his childhood 10 through age 20 and mind you he came from a very supportive family of positive role models. During his delinquency I was stood in his corner not condoning the behavior but reinforcing the importance of how the behavior has consequences. The problem I had with juvenile system was they set him up for failure, continuing to just slap him on the wrist for his behavior, for example, at age he started to run away so he could hang out, he started with the drugs and robbed people, stop going to school and the final straw was when he cut off the electronic leg bracelet order by the courts and they did nothing but talk with him which was an insult and a let down for me as a parent, until finally at the age of 16 I was done with him and the judicial system. . My son academically exceeded beyond his class but he is so smart that he is stupid because he has all the answers and he is invisiable when it comes to danger, he never graduated and continues to come in contact with law enforcement.
I say all of this to say, if those power that be feel that beyond scared striagth is not effective and create psychological effect I disagree and I am an advocate for the program because of the world we live in which consist of reality, for example, 9/11.
I work with youths in education and find them to react first before looking at the consequences of their action, then it is to late, leaving them to suffer the consquences of prison or death. So once again I appauled A&E on taking the first step in a reality approach which addresses delinquency of our youths. Can anyone suggest another reality which hit home in the minds of our youth which can intervene before its to late?
Thanks again for sharing
Dawne
I have a 16 year old that has decided within the last year alone that she was going to overdoes on Motrin (saying she wanted to die) then go into rehab, drink alot, got drunk at school and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital for acute alcohol poisoning, go through a class with only a 7 day suspension, lost her virginity in my house while 6 younger children were hear as well, is obnoxiously flirtatious with every guy in the world (the most recent boy friend a 17 year old father with one more possibly on the way), gone to several counselors (the most recent said there was nothing he could do for her and said she has defiant disorder which is just giving an excuse for her BS behavior), she has put her hands on me, screamed at me to call the cops (which I did and they just talked to her), and just today she told her cousin she was pretty sure I was a whore in high school (I never talked about my mother like that). I am at my wits end, no clue what to do anymore, and don’t think something like this is all too bad cause I have tried everything else….Oh, she also calls herself a Juggalette (part of the juggalo/juggalette clan)…but THEY ARE NOT A GANG (she says).
I am actually watching the show now and It’s amazing how realistic and heart wrenching this is. This brings about a knew sense of hope. I am looking forward to someone outside myself to help make a difference in my kid’s life bringing a change and new light. I am not sure if you can but contact me in regards to getting my teen involved in a taping of your program . Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter
I need help with my 13yr old. He tells me all the time no, I don’t have to, I don’t care, I’m not his boss. His dad is no help. He let’s him do what ever he wants. over there It’s out of sight out of mind. His dad absolutely will not work with me about punishment. I fear he’ll a juvenile delinquent then on to prison life. I’m at the point I want to whip his ass with my belt at least twice a day. I also believe schools should bring back being able to bust butts in school. He has no respect for NO ONE. If u can’t help me please tell me that there is somewhere in Ky. that can get him help PLEASE PLEASE!!!! I’m not sure if my e-
Mail is working so here is my phone # (502)-759-6853.
I have a 14-year old son who is at the beginning stages of being a juvenile delinquent. Even though he is extremely intelligent, his life choices are eventually going to destroy him. He smokes marijuana, he’s extremely hostile, defiant, disrespectful and angry. I have done everything in my power as a loving and caring mother to help and my options have run out. He’s had therapy with a psychologist, spoken with social workers, the pastor of our church and many other individuals who he respects. He seems hopeless in my opinion. The part I don’t get is that he has no reason to be this way. He has been brought up in a two parent home where there are no negative influences. Both his father and myself have properly provided for our children’s needs. We have raised them in church and kept them engaged in social activities to keep them occupied. Please help me! Somebody help me save my son before he ends up as another statistic in the African American community!
Derek, you realize scared straight programs actually INCREASE the chances your daughter will end up in prison? Take her to tour college campuses, get her in positive activities, and show her what possibilities she has if she makes the right choices.
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/11/26/scared-straight-not-really/
MY POST IS THE ONE B4 about my 14 and 16 yr ols
MY E-MAIL WAS WRONG SORRY
PLEASE PLEASE I NEED TO GET MY 2 KIDS IN THIS PROGRAM THEY NEED IT DESPERATELY, PLEASE LET ME NOW HOW TO ENQUIRE AND SIGHN THEM UPI WILL DO ANYTHING TO HELP THEM, THEY ARE 14 AND 16 HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPP ME PLEASE
I loved the women on this show. I really hope this show helps lots of teens. I can really feel the compassion and caring of these women. I wish the best for all of them!
I would like information on how to get my 14 year old son into this program or one similar to this one.
My 16 year old son needs it bad, ‘Beyond Scared Straight’. He is going out to partys and staying out all night and smokeing pot I thnk he need this so he doesn’t go down the same roads his father did. I’m a single parent that gets no respect. I really think he has no respect for himself so how can he respect ANYTHING??? He’s also been arrested for minor things and gotten off with a slap on the hand so to speak. How do you get on the show?
My 16 year old son needs it bad, ‘Beyond Scared Straight’. He is going out to partys and staying out all night and smokeing pot I thnk he need this so he doesn’t go down the same roads his father did. I’m a single parent that gets no respect. I really think he had no respect for himself so how can he respect ANYTHING??? He’s also been arrested for minor things and gotten off with a slap on the hand so to speak. How do you get on the show?
I thought this was awesome, seeing the inmates talk to these youth with the passion was very inspiring. Makes me feel guilty for every day i just waste lying around watching tv. They also speak to the kids about parts of prison that the average joe does not think about. Not just rape, but shower allotments, the food, etc. I think these are good programs. I believe the inmates when they talk to the kids and give their testimonies. I believe these inmates when they tell the kids they do not want them to end up like they did. If it can save a kid, and our tax dollars, I am for it. We need to put as much money keeping kids out of prison as we do housing the ones we already have.
The show is interesting, but most of these kids come from low income homes, parents having kids even though they cant afford to support them then expect them to be good, maybe if they kept their legs closed they would have a better outcome instead of living poor and having to work twice as hard for their parents mistakes. And no I don’t think scaring kids to make them act right will work honestly maybe if they had people they could talk to without yelling or judging them \ and parents that can say I love you to their children instead of calling them names and a home without so much negativity and ignoring them they would be more well rounded. And having inmates who screwed up their lives telling and some who have harmed others to be able to yell in your face like being in prison gives them a upper hand its crazy. You dont even have to commit a crime to end up in jail it could be a wrong place at a wrong time you just dont know there are so many actually innocent people in there who turn into criminals because of bad luck. You hear basic stories teens doing drugs and stealing but do we really know the full story and that’s what upsets me about parents who aren’t involved with their kids life they could have been abused and nobody would know at all but all they do is sit their complain and show the world just a bad teen and say they’ve done everything they could even though they sat there for years doing god knows what, I think people need to get to wait until they are stable enough to have kids and learn as people to respect their bodies because some end up with their kids and just don’t care. They should be in their lives and the kids should see their parent as someone they can talk to when they are in need instead of brushing them off because their mad at their ruined lives they created for themselves.
POVERTY is NO EXCUSE for poor parenting! I take offense at your remarks, as I struggled to raise all of the 5 kids I had when my husband drained my savings, literally cleaned out both my accounts and his, took off and left me to fend for myself and our children. The law did NOTHING to him, except for maybe a week in jail. He was ordered to pay alimony and child support, which he rarely did, and I was forced to take extra work on, and I still parented my kids, all of which are doing very well! One even has a complete scholarship, Governors Award, and he EARNED it. He is a Comp Sci Major. Another is a Walmart Manager, great salary, big job at 26. He worked his way up. Another works for a large firm as a administrator.I could go on and on, all of them are achievers. You just have to be consistent as a parent, love them, give them all you have. Make sure they can READ. Shop the ads, buy the best quality food at the lowest prices. Most of all, be there for them. Put them before your “man”, if you have one. Because they need you the most.
how a man can spend 50 years to life in prison for stealing 40$? never killed anyone but 40$? hearing him say all the things hes been through makes me feel so bad, theres people out there that have done worse and yes what he did was wrong but i dont think he deserved 50 years; his wife left him, he hasnt seen his child, makes me feel so bad i wish i could help em.
law makers do not agree with this show and dont want to fund these scared straight programs but what other help or options are they giving us parents to help are children. NONE!
how can i get our youyh at church in to this program
After seeing multiple episodes of the show, and after reading this article/posts, plus reading some other the articles against Scared Straight/Beyond Scared Straight, I can see merits from both sides. I am a FIRM believer that children of incarcerated persons NEED to be reached, and the earlier the better. All kids who are in danger need to be reached, but studies have shown that children of incarcerated persons are much, MUCH more likely to go into jail than others.
The problem is that the kids need continual support. Parents who are in the right mind about raising their kids (which the numbers of those are dropping year after year) can only do so much support when the entire culture of the school and or neighborhood is pressing in on these kids. The parents who only care about themselves and their next fix, (or their million dollar job) are as effective at changing their kids as a lightpost. At their heart, all kids are good. Some just get ideas about this world and their place in it embedded in their minds at such, such earlier ages. I am talking about 3 and 4 years old. I volunteer and am a member at a church that as part of it’s mission statement reaches out to the forgotten neighborhoods of our city. We have kids all the way from 2 to 22 that we minister to, and for every one that become part of our church, we have 20-50 or more that are irregulars and use us for food and fun. We love them anyway, and are always there for them to love and minister to them but what breaks my heart are the thousands of other kids in our city alone that we are not reaching. Constant support and constant teaching about the right way to live is what what we try to give, but we don’t reach them all. If we reach one, however, then we are doing what God has called us to do.
I think where the detractors are coming from is from a broad overview of the entire system. As the A&E program shows, multiple states have this type of experience for youth. It should be noted, because I haven’t seen anyone note this yet, that the show is going into prisons where the youth programs are ALREADY AT WORK. If it was that ineffective, would the wardens allow it at all??? I can see how the programs (with or without the cameras) would encourage the children (who are already so set in their “evil” way and wrong choices) to do more. I can also see how the programs may benefit the inmates more than the students.
Taking kids from middle class, upper middle class, or ever higher class neighborhoods into the prisons probably had more effect because those kids have never experienced some of the things they see and hear while there. However, the arguement could be made that the kids would not learn anything because their privledged minds would constantly be saying, “This isn’t me, this is the poor culture.” Having inmates from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds might help this.
For the kids from the “poorer, forgotten, passed over” neighborhoods: agression, attitude, yelling, anger, cursing, tatoos, smoking, drugs, etc….are commonplace and usual. And it is important to say that most kids see this so early in their lives that they view it as commomplace as a lemonade stand or trampoline jumping is to other kids. “Scaring” them with the realities of prison probably won’t do much. However, I believe, after working a camp called Angel Tree Camp (for kids with parents in prison) and talking with the kids about their relationships with their parents when they are in prison, and when they get out–I believe that the thing that will help the kids who come from the neighborhoods where prison life is what is expected would be to have the inmates keep in touch and follow up with the students after they go through the program. Get the inmates who HAVE changed more in these kids lives. Get the inmates who are released and living productive lives in these kids lives.
Ok, I kinda feel like I have been rambling. Let me sum up. BOTH arguements are right. However, both are ignoring something. They should work TOGETHER. Use the “youth inside” programs as a way to begin an indepth attack on the culture.
i am 56 and i am raising my 15 year old grand daughter and her mom has been in and out of prison all her live and she is going out to partys and staying ut all night and smokeing pot i thnk she need this so she dont go down the same rode her mom did and she has been suspended from school to many times to count for fighting with other girls that just look at her funny
Your granddaughter is going down the same road as her mother, because she has been living the same way. CONSISTENCY in parenting is what she needs. Offer kids limited choices from the time they are first able to communicate. Too many choices are overwhelming, and kids will later use them to control you. It starts with them only willing to eat certain things, refusing all others. They learn life is about choices, and when given too many from the beginning, think they have a right to do anything they want, just like picking out what they will and won’t eat. Children need structure. Children need consequences for actions, though violence isn’t the right remedy. If you do use corporal punishment when they are small, make it a rare thing, a last resort kind of thing. And no beating with objects, no excessive force.It’s DISCIPLINE you want to give them, not abuse.Also, why is she allowed to go out to parties? She is too young!There should be responsible adults there, and you should take her and pick her up! Going unescorted to parties is for adults only, she is a child. I have raised 5 kids as a single Mom , and I know how tough it is.I tell kids this: I am your MOM, not your buddy. I don’t care if you like me right now or not. I am the one person in the world who truly loves you unconditionally.And I love you enough to sit on you for the bad things you do. HARD.
i am 56 and i am raising my 15 year old grand daughter and her mom has been in and out of prison all her live and she is going out to partys and staying ut all night and smokeing pot i thnk she need this so she dont go down the same rode her mom did
All I have to say is I’m glad my parents raised me properly. Throwing me down flights of stairs, beating the crap out of me, throwing me out of the house by age 12… yeah, there’s nothing like constant verbal & physical abuse, neglect, and abandonment to make a kid STAY “Scared Straight”!
(Note: I just finished a study on the efficacy of the DARE program. Like the SS program, it’s been scientifically proven that not only does DARE not work, it actually makes kids who would never use drugs go out and try them out of curiosity. And the US government spends 750 *MILLION* dollars a year on DARE. Oh, and for those who think, “Oh, he wrote a paper, big whoop”, the Psychology department at my school found my paper so well done and factually backed up that they are now including it as a teaching tool in Psychology 223 classes at the University.)
The program could potentially benefit the type of children that are being targeted. Not the hardcore gangbangers or drug dealers, but those youngsters who are acting out and are probably not as tough as they think they are. Most of the youngsters that appear on the program look soft, but are trying their best to be hard. Will the program “scare” everyone straight? Probably not, but it will definitely make some of these young folks think twice about their future. For those of you who think being forced to meet with a bunch of convicts, some convicted of murder, is not an eye opener, either you’ve never been to prison, or you’ve never been around true killers who will take your life just because they can. This is just one program and one approach to a serious problem in society: out of control youngsters.
Let’s say you are making an important decision-
Buying a car, refinancing your house, choosing a personal care physician.
Choose any of these.
How does one proceed?
You collect the pertinent information, you weigh your options, and being a logical person, you choose what makes sense so that you get your desired outcome in the most efficient, effective way possible.
In short, you do the best to put yourself in a position to make an informed decision.
Would you trust your automobile to a mechanic who only fixes cars 10% of the time?
Would you knowingly choose a mechanic who not only doesn’t fix the leaky radiator but also damages the engine?
That is what you are doing by choosing Scared Straight programming.
This approach does not work with children.
Scared Straight makes it MORE likely that they will offend.
This is not an article of faith, it is a statement of fact.
And it is important to share the full story with the public.
Here are the ALL facts and allow them to make an informed decision.
The Beyond Scared Straight show is not giving the viewing public the full story.
Children are different than adults.
The law (and science) recognizes this fact and provides for differential treatment.
Scared Straight programming flies in the face of that knowledge.
Please don’t just take my word for this.
Consider the just announced position taken by the national organization of family and juvenile court judges:
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
http://www.ncjfcj.org/content/view/1372/347/
1/27/11 — The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges is concerned that the A&E program “Beyond Scared Straight” misrepresents the effectiveness of such interventions with youthful offenders. Although advertisements for the show claim Scared Straight! is “an effective juvenile prevention/intervention program,” social science research clearly demonstrates the opposite. In fact, research strongly suggests Scared Straight! and similar programs have a harmful impact on youth and are associated with increased risk for continued delinquent/criminal behaviors. Further, it is clear these types of interventions as portrayed are neither developmentally appropriate nor trauma-informed.
The NCJFCJ joins the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and other leaders in juvenile justice and child welfare to call on A&E to provide a meaningful opportunity to present the facts around Scared Straight! and similar programs, and to help inform the public about evidence-based practices and programs for youthful offenders.
Why would jurists (whose job it is to see to the rehabilitation of children while protecting public safety) take this position unless there were serious problems with Scared Straight?
Most respectfully,
Everybody has their own way of getting people to do right. Sometimes, it does take seeing how hard others may have it or seeing how someone else has ruined their life to make someone else fix theirs. I am not an at risk youth or anything like that but I know that this show is helping someone. Even if it’s only one person, it’s helping. I work and subscribe to DISH Network service and I watched the show in HD and let me tell you, I could see so much pain and regret in the ladies at the Chowchilla prison eyes, it hurt me to the core. I love DISH and if you want to experience the viewing experience that I had, then look into getting DISH.
*Danielle
I live in Michigan and the crime commited by black male teens are so bad the judges are putting them on trial as adults at 13 and 14 years of age that I sometimes ask my son does he know these kids. I just thank God that he is a good boy and makes excellent grades and attends church every Sunday and doesn’t give me any trouble. I would still like him to watch this show because it scared me a grown woman and hope that it causes some of the kids who think prison is cool to get scared straight and finish school and become productive citizens.
I’d like to see more in depth documentation regarding the conclusions that the “scared straight” programs listed were ineffective or even harmful. Statistics can be manipulated many ways, and I like to see links to the data.
To answer many who have posted here. I do not believe it is abusive to give these kids a hard look at what life in prison is really like.
I was 13 years old when I saw the original “Scared Straight”, and I was involved in some high risk activities: drinking, petty theft and running with the wrong crowd. I won’t credit “Scared Straight” for stopping that behavior, but it certainly gave me something to think about. I haven’t had anything worse than a traffic ticket as an adult.
As I said, I’d like to see that data, but it is hard for me to fathom that the program doesn’t have a positive effect on enough of the kids exposed to it to be a positive value.
Best Wishes,
Fitz
I am very interested in finding out how to possibly sign a teen boy up for the scared straight program..my fiances 16yr old son is OUT OF CONTROL and he wants to help him get on the right path and turn his life around before it’s too late.. can someone please HELP!!
I am a 62 year old grandmother who is raising a teenage boy 16 years old boy. I need help to find out how to let him go to one of these scared straight programs . He is a bright child with a lot to offer. please help me. I am a Nurse at a prison in Philadelphia.
I have a 16 year old nephew that is uncontrolable at this point…..He needs to see this first hand. Please let me know how I can get him on this show or if there are any other programs such as this one to join. I am not in his life on a daily basis which is why I know he needs much more positive influences.
God forbid our kids see real life. Right?
my cousin disrespects my mother she is 13 in foster care and her mother and father wants nothing to do her she is so easy to fall into the in crowd! please help before its 2 late!
Pls help me help my son and save his life from destruction thanks contact me asap…
I am a deaf Single mom who raising my kids by myself they’re very disrespectful and out of control….i need that help especially for my son he will be 13 this year he has done shoplifting and hasn’t gotten caught yet? My son calls his little sister a b…h and hits her? Also, he doesn’t care about nobody not even himself? He won’t wash his butt and steal his sisters clothes and hids dressing up like a girl in private? He doesn’t care about his education or doing anything? But playing ps3 and watching tv? He isolate himself in his room? Pls help me before i lose my son to the street or jail? He has a very cocky attitude too getting smart with me or the other men i tried to get to help him? Help me pls for the i.m.p.a.c.t prison program in md?since that’s closer to pa? I believe if my son gets to experiance that it will scare him beyond straight since his father is an inmate and he thinks he is bad because he is his son?
There are “wilderness programs” which are different from the scared straight tactics, and most insurances will pay for it. I’ve seen it in action, and it works. I don’t know where one is in your area, but here is a name..Catherine Freer Foundation. Look them up, they will lead you from there. Be careful, and research which program you pick. I had this experience with a teenager too. They have special clinical techs who can safely confine him if he fights, not hurt him, and deliver him to therapy. check with Catherine Freer, they can help and offer more help I don’t know about.
not all of those types of programs except insurance and every single program that i have researched cost alot of money and far far away. I have not yet found a program in the maryland area or in any of the surrounding states of maryland that is cost worthy or excepting to insurance. I hope that someone can help us parents that have tried every possible resource and give us some new and more effective ways of helping us with our children. I think if your not a parent that hasnt been through what some of us has u really cant understand how much help we need and what things we will do to help our children do better. I have tought all of my children good morals and only one i am having trouble with so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. because my hands are tied right now i have ran out of resources.
every “solution” has positives & negatives. as a psych major w/ a minor in social welfare i took statistics & criminal justice courses. you can spin any study to get the results you want. in fact, most researchers do. their minds are made up before they even start conducting a study. from the methods you choose to the group you pick (or the way participants are solicited), and even the way you present your findings… if you want the study to back up your beliefs you can make it happen. my cousin participated in a scared straight program when we were younger. he was a multiple juvenile offender. it worked for him & his friends. doesn`t mean it will work for everyone. but you can`t argue that it doesn`t work at all just because you went out & found every kid who it didn`t help. if that`s the findings i wanted to present then i would go to the worst neighborhoods of the most crime-ridden cities too and cry “foul! see, it barely helps.”
my little’s sister’s just got done filming the show and…it has done them some good they are going to school more and not stilling anymore now with the sex and drugs im not to sure on i live in a different state but i hope that the younger kids that watch this can learn something from this……i cant wait to see the show that air’s march 3rd…………leann ryan
The experts say that the program doesn’t work because rigorous studies of the program show that on average, kids that go through Scared Straight have a higher rate of recidivism than kids that don’t. There have been a lot of high quality studies done of Scared Straight that have randomly assigned kids to get the program and kids to serve as a comparison group- the kids that get Scared Straight actually are more likely to reoffend than the kids in the comparison group.
Just got done watching it, and can’t say enough good about the show! I think this should be shown to all kids, no matter if they are good or bad, so they can see what can happen if they make the wrong choices.
who are these people saying that this program doesn’t work? where do they live in a bubble? perhaps they should visit the prison along with the children on the program and perhaps make a decision on whether they think the program will work or not? As an older adult (40 yrs old to be exact), I was sitting on my bed SCARED AS HELL!!! The tactics do work. Young people need to see firsthand what prison is like. Although we all know it’s big business, it’s not all fun and games either in prison or sitting around socializing. The inmates were doing what they could do to instill to these young people not to make the mistakes that they made. IT WAS ALL OUT OF LOVE.
So because YOU were scared, it works, and anyone who disagrees is a “bubble” person?
How many factors go into a person living a life that ends up with him being a criminal and going to jail?
– Neglectful or abusive parents (lack of positive role model.)
– Alcohol abuse and drug use
– Lack of employable skills, qualifications, attitude
– Raised in environment where violence is an acceptable response to frustration, disrespect…
– A future-less outlook where there is and never was any hope for a productive future.
– Being from a community with a history of incarceration.
I’m sure we could go on. My point is that the argument that “Scared Straight!” works assumes that as long as a kid is scared of jail, none of the other 100 factors matter. I’d bet this isn’t the case, and science proves it.
I am really baffled reading through some of these comments. It is because of people with your mindset, we in America, are so screwed up and going in all the wrong directions. You must have had a silver spoon in your mouth growing up or lived in a closed environment. There is no 1 solution that will solve our nations criminal problem but to do nothing, we all know is not the answer and for the past 15 plus years as our criminal population has sky rocketed, talking in a counseling room has not worked either. And being a black male who is seemingly “making it”, it pains me to say our rap music (which most of the current generation loves) has painted and embedded a clearly false picture of gangs, drugs, and violence which has significantly skewed our children’s young minds about the penalties for their actions. No one raps about how after they did their crime and went to jail for several years and got raped, beat up daily or placed in solitary confinement going crazy. Being placed in a program that shows you the TRUE harshness and reality of the penalties behind your actions will have more of a positive impact than not. Notice I said “MORE OF A POSITIVE IMPACT than not” because I know there are just some bad people in the world. And a comment was made that they have not committed crimes to the level of prison but based on their current activity, they are on a path that will lead them there. I applaud the creator and hopes for the best with this program. At the beginning and end of every show they say even if they only touch ONE person, they have made a difference. I firmly agree because one less criminal minded individual is one less person that may negatively affect my family and yours.
I agree, Literacy is WONDERFUL. However, when kids are really young, and you have exhausted all other means; sometimes a swat on the behind is well-placed. It should never be used unless the child has exhibited “Over The Top” behavior. And he should already know such behavior WILL result in the aforementioned punishment. Allowing kids to make their own rules for everything is where most parents fail.Sharing decisions is a wonderful way to make your child feel like they can have some input, just that the final decisions are yours. Explain to them that childhood is a chance to “train” for adulthood. However, adult activities are for adults only. Put education first. Going back to school yourself is a good idea. It sets an example.
Sakes,sorry. 🙂
What a bunch of crap! The only people that say it does’nt work are the same people that want to control how we discipline our children, which is next to doing nothing now. You think putting them in a corner at 16 is going to work? And now some states have a law that you don’t have to listen to your parents and there’s nothing you can do. I say stay out of the way we discipline,unless there’s real abuse. Kids weren’t shooting up schools until lawmakers stuck their noses into things. Leave the show alone. Bring on more!!! For goodness sales,something.needs to be done.
Ever get the feeling that there are more people than there are lower and middle class jobs? And that this wasn’t always the case here in America?
People don’t go to jail because they haven’t been properly terrified.
Take the jobs away and entire populations of middle class decent people soon find themselves Bloods and Crips. This actually happened. Watch the incredible documentary “Bloods and Crips: Made In America.”
Oh my, do you believe everything you see on tv?
While I agree Big Government needs to stay out of our lives and families as much as possible, hitting them really doesn’t help much either. Teaching them about mutual respect and offering them limited choices when they are small, rather than allowing them to make too many choices is best. We’ve all seen the “little monster” running about the grocery store, wrecking the place. You can always pick out his mom, she’s the one with her nose in the air, pretending she can’t hear his ear-splitting screams and is just calmly shopping; allowing that kid to torment everyone else in the store. This sends him the message that he is in charge and no one can stop him from doing whatever he wants. My oldest saw this sort of thing when he was small.he decided he was going to run around the store and make a nuisance out himself too. he tore off, hollering and acting up, right along with the other kids he so admired. I caught up with him, and seriously, for the first time in his life;spanked him right there in public. Some woman went and got the store manager who told her to mind her own business, at least I was a parent who parented.
By the way, he never did anything like that again. And none of the younger ones even tried it.
Well i think you are wrong. I’m 18 and i Was beyond scared, and i wasn’t even there! I was in my room, watching from the comfort of My bed, from my tv. and i was scared. I’m not even a BAD kid. I’m just a kid. I dont ever want to be in prison. Not EVER. That was a wake up call even for me. It changed me. I want to be a good person and not ever end up like those people. Ask half the kids my age that watched that show tonight. I DARE you. Your studies are wrong. Doing what these people do, helps my generation go in the right direction.
We are a feel good society. Need to stop babying criminals.
At 18 you are considered an adult in the eyes of the law(17 here in Georgia). You are no longer a kid. You are responsible for your actions.
Our justice system inherently recognizes the difference between adults such as yourself and kids.
These kids are NOT criminals in the eyes of the law. Most of them are charged with minor acts (shoplifting, breaking curfew, etc..) for which 99% of kids never get back into trouble.
Since they are not criminals or adults, they should not be treated as such.
Do you think it is ok to abuse your pet?
Threatening kids with rape and acts of violence is abuse. Some of the youth have anger issues, so is it a good idea to show them more anger to “break them” of it?
Kids learn what they are taught, is this really what you want to teach them?
What magically changes you to the core when you are 18?
Justice is life – should there be no consequence to an action?
Can you show me a large peer-reviewed study that proves self esteem education prevents crime?
These young adults have made choices. Should young adults be responsible for doing evil? Should we legally prosecute not a seventeen-year-old for murder, but prosecute a eighteen-year-old. What is the physiological difference of one day? (Being 17 years and 364 days vs. 18 years old.)
I THINK DA SHOW IS GOING TO B A HIT! THERE R SUM KIDS OUT THERE DAT NEED TO B SCARED STR8 N BEYOND. I KNW IT WILL DO SUM GUD N CAN STOP ALOT OF PROBLEMS BEFORE THEY START. PPL NEED TO GIVE DA SHOW A CHANCE R YOUTH NEED IT N THIS IS DA ONLY WAY
Except that it doesn’t work, and supports the idea that abuse is the answer.
The logic Scared Straight suggests:
Cigarette smokers would stop if they only knew the dangers of smoking. Drunk drivers wouldn’t if they only knew how dangerous it was.
People go to jail because they believe they have no future. When you have no future, all sorts of bad things happen.
The person most likely to avoid jail is the person who feels he has the most to lose (his career, family, sanity, health…) When you’ve already lost all these things, going to jail is a natural consequence.
I’m hearing a lot of rhetoric of how this program does not work & can do more harm than good. But all I’m hearing is talk. I want to see numbers. I want to hear success stories – or that ALL of the kids who participated in the original program ended up in prison, then I will believe that this program does not work. As they say on the program, if they can change even one kid’s mind, then it has been worth it. Even if one person decides not to smoke due to the anti-smoking campaigns, then it is considered “a success,” is it not? I think it is a good idea to let these kids see what they are in for if they continue a life of crime. If they continue, then they’ve been warned. If they choose to go straight, then the program is a success. I believe this program has some merit, particularly if there is follow up care.
As far as these kids being traumatized & causing them to commit more crimes? I find that a ridiculous argument.
I have watched the show and think it is a good idea. I am having problems with my 12 year old son and if i was given the opportunity to send him this type of program i would do it. I have tried everything and nothing has helped him and now i am to the point where i do not know what to do with him. All i heard at the end of the show was the success some of the boys had. who is to say it is not going to work and if u have parents that have tried every resource u can think of to get your child help and its not successful what else r we suppose to do as parents who want nothing but the best for there child.
I agree that I think the show is stupid and possible counter-productive. WTF is the point of letting prisoners yell at teens and giving them “life lessons?” Some of the stuff the inmates say is such nonsense that I’m sure even some of the teens are smart enough to see it for nonsense (one of the inmates said that marijuana is a “gateway drug” for example).
Prisoners and guards yell at these teens, for what purpose? It’s idiotic. The show is horrifyingly stupid.
I don’t know…If you have a better idea on how to help trouble kids I’m in.
My dad let me talk to a good friend of him a drug addict with needle tracks all over his arms that told me to stay away from drugs, I still remember that day and never did drugs.