Scared Straight Analysis
Scared straight
Scared straight in a documentary from 1978, teens that have been in trouble with the law to spend a day at a Federal penitentiary. The hope, is that the teens would realize that, the life they are leading is headed towards jail time. The inmates are part of a program designed to scare the teens into changing their paths and make a change within their lives. The original 17 teens were followed up to 10 years later and out of the 17, only one went on to be a hardened criminal. When asked, the remaining 16 what worked, most of them agreed it was a wakeup call because they got to see the other side and we’re literally “scared straight”. Of the group in 1978, Terrance reached the greatest level of success. He went on to join the …show more content…
However, the overall program ( not the TV show) statistics showed that out of 384 participants only 57 went on to a life of crime and another group of 300 had an 80% turn around (Shapiro, 1978). The program even proved beneficial to a hand full of inmates, that felt like they had made a difference and were proud of that. Was it because it was a TV show that the outcome was greated than the current programs used today? Did the participants receive follow up services, or the simple fact that they knew a TV producer would be checking in with them 10, 20 years later, was the main factor for changing their behavior? The entertainment industry went on to remake scared straight into a reality TV show in 2011-2015 also showcasing how this diversion program works for troubled teens. In the first episode, it showed girls who have been in trouble with the law or just plain rebellious, each partaking in a list of status offences. One girl (Cecilia) even saw her incarcerated mother at the facility while taking the tour. Most of the girls had the attitude that “we are not horrible, and not out killing people” and definitely not like these women in prison” (Beyond Scared Straight episode 1 …show more content…
I asked a probation officer the same question and her answer was. There aren’t many options available, or if they are, they are not cost prohibitive. The criminal system is cyclical, treatment-punishment-treatment. They get out of jail reoffend, and the cycle starts all over again, and without early intervention we will continue on this revolving path (Todd, 2016). I also asked her how do you get people to change, and she said “when they want to, when they realize that they are too old to continue this lifestyle and are missing out on relationships with their children and grandchildren” (Todd, 2016).
References
Agnew, R. B. (2015). Juvenile Delinquency. New York: Oxford Press.
Beyond Scared Straight episode 1 Chowchilla (2011). [Motion Picture].
National Institute of Justice. (2016). Retrieved from Juvenile awareness programs: https://www.crimesolutions.gov/PracticeDetails.aspx?ID=4
Shapiro, A. (Director). (1978). Scared Straight [Motion Picture].
Todd, A. (2016, October 3rd). Washington State Probation officer Spokane county. (A. Rabe,
Scared straight in a documentary from 1978, teens that have been in trouble with the law to spend a day at a Federal penitentiary. The hope, is that the teens would realize that, the life they are leading is headed towards jail time. The inmates are part of a program designed to scare the teens into changing their paths and make a change within their lives. The original 17 teens were followed up to 10 years later and out of the 17, only one went on to be a hardened criminal. When asked, the remaining 16 what worked, most of them agreed it was a wakeup call because they got to see the other side and we’re literally “scared straight”. Of the group in 1978, Terrance reached the greatest level of success. He went on to join the …show more content…
However, the overall program ( not the TV show) statistics showed that out of 384 participants only 57 went on to a life of crime and another group of 300 had an 80% turn around (Shapiro, 1978). The program even proved beneficial to a hand full of inmates, that felt like they had made a difference and were proud of that. Was it because it was a TV show that the outcome was greated than the current programs used today? Did the participants receive follow up services, or the simple fact that they knew a TV producer would be checking in with them 10, 20 years later, was the main factor for changing their behavior? The entertainment industry went on to remake scared straight into a reality TV show in 2011-2015 also showcasing how this diversion program works for troubled teens. In the first episode, it showed girls who have been in trouble with the law or just plain rebellious, each partaking in a list of status offences. One girl (Cecilia) even saw her incarcerated mother at the facility while taking the tour. Most of the girls had the attitude that “we are not horrible, and not out killing people” and definitely not like these women in prison” (Beyond Scared Straight episode 1 …show more content…
I asked a probation officer the same question and her answer was. There aren’t many options available, or if they are, they are not cost prohibitive. The criminal system is cyclical, treatment-punishment-treatment. They get out of jail reoffend, and the cycle starts all over again, and without early intervention we will continue on this revolving path (Todd, 2016). I also asked her how do you get people to change, and she said “when they want to, when they realize that they are too old to continue this lifestyle and are missing out on relationships with their children and grandchildren” (Todd, 2016).
References
Agnew, R. B. (2015). Juvenile Delinquency. New York: Oxford Press.
Beyond Scared Straight episode 1 Chowchilla (2011). [Motion Picture].
National Institute of Justice. (2016). Retrieved from Juvenile awareness programs: https://www.crimesolutions.gov/PracticeDetails.aspx?ID=4
Shapiro, A. (Director). (1978). Scared Straight [Motion Picture].
Todd, A. (2016, October 3rd). Washington State Probation officer Spokane county. (A. Rabe,