Another Look at Scared Straight

Journal of Correctional Education, Mar 2005 by Feinstein, Sheryl

Scared Straight

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of adult prisoner presentations on juvenile delinquents. The study involved twenty-four students incarcerated in a low security facility for male adolescents. Two adult male prisoners and a guard from a minimum-security federal prison came to the juvenile correctional facility to talk with the boys. The prisoners spoke about their life leading up to prison and prison life. Of the topics discussed the drug and alcohol use portion of the talk impacted the greatest majority of students (68%). Fifty-five percent of the adolescents believed the presentation would keep them from going to prison. An overwhelming 96% said they would recommend the program to other teenagers in their situation.

Another Look at Scared Straight

Half of all serious crimes in the United States are committed by youths 10 to 17 years old. Juvenile crime increases each year at a rate double that of adult crime. Virtually all adult criminals were juvenile offenders. With these statistics haunting us it's no wonder there is a public need and concern to combat juvenile delinquency (NCIA, n.d.).

One attempt at curbing juvenile crime was the program "Scared Straight." Inmates serving life sentences in NJ started the program in the 1970's. The purpose was to be brutally honest with children and adolescents considering a life of crime. Scared Straight involved visits to prison by juvenile delinquents, enabling them to get a first hand view of what life was like in prison. It was hoped that by experiencing prison life and hearing from the prisoners themselves about life behind bars children and adolescents would be deterred from criminal activity (Petrosino, Turpin-Petrosino, & Buehler, 2001).

The program caught the attention of television executives and "SCARED STRAIGHT! Special: Inside a maximum-security prison" was aired. The TV show followed 17 juvenile offenders as they experienced prison life for two hours. During the show it was reported that about 8,000 juveniles had visited the prison and that 80% of them were reformed by the experience. The outpour of public support for the program spread nationally - money was pumped in and research was conducted to evaluate its effectiveness (NCIA, n.d.).

Disappointingly, researchers found no difference between those participating in the Scared Straight program and those not participating. Attitudes toward law, justice, policemen, punishment and self-perception remained stable. Even more disillusioning was the recidivism rate of those involved in the program. Recidivism rates were found to be higher for those in the program than those not in the program. Some researchers went so far as to believe it increased delinquency (Petrosino, Turpin-Petrosino, & Buehler, 2001).

Putting perspective on the research, Lundman and Scarpitti (1978) wrote that there was no program that prevents delinquency. To expect a two-hour program to combat a condition that involves inner city schools, poverty, and dysfunctional families was unrealistic. They added that unfortunately the Scared Straight program was effective with those that didn't really need it, but remained ineffective for kids that had already been in juvenile correctional facilities. Accustomed to the structure and lifestyle of correctional facilities, it was unlikely adjudicated youth would be frightened by a two-hour prison visit.

The purpose of this study was to explore adult prisoner presentations on juvenile delinquents. The study involved twenty-four students incarcerated in a low security facility for male adolescents. All participants were male and their crimes consisted primarily of grand auto theft, drugs and robbery. The average stay ranged from one month to one year. The majority of boys were academically behind at least one year in school and had difficulty with reading and writing skills.

Two adult male prisoners and a guard from a minimum-security federal prison in a mid-western rural state came to the facility to talk with the boys. The prisoners spoke about their life leading up to prison and prison life. The two themes surrounding each speaker were 1 ) take personal responsibility for your actions and 2) each individual has the power to make choices in their life. Prisoner A's life of crime started at 12 and involved drugs, drinking, and grand auto theft. He came from a dysfunctional home, best depicted by the incarceration of his mother when he was 13 years old for hiring someone to kill his father. He became a high school drop-out and was living on the street by age 17. At 19 he was arrested for meth-amphetamines and he was in the process of serving nine years in prison.

Prisoner B was serving a 16 year sentence for distributing cocaine. As an adolescent he was involved with the Latin Kings and told of the seduction of "getting your ride" at 16 years old by selling drugs.

Both men spoke of prison life: They expressed their humiliation and lack of control being told what to wear, what to eat, when to get up and go to sleep, where to work, and when to see family. The limitations of living in an 8'X10' cell, with one double bunk bed, and two shelves shared with a stranger were imprinted on the boys' minds.