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How to... Avoid the Failures of “Scared Straight” Programs

“Scared Straight” Programs“Scared Straight” Programs“Scared Straight” Programs

So, what is a “Scared Straight” program?

  • Programs that typically bring at-risk youth into an adult prison to be confronted by inmates about the consequences of illegal conduct.
  • These programs include prison tours, personal stories from inmates and integration of youth into the prison population,1 where some youth have reported to evaluators that adult inmates sexually propositioned them and tried to steal their belongings.2
  • The major emphasis of these programs is on punishment and ensuring youth have a heightened awareness of the daily lack of comfort and degradation of being confined in an American prison.3

But can someone really be “Scared Straight”?

  • "The role of a school resource officer is not to be the bogeyman,” said Curt Lavarello, executive director of the Florida-based National Association of School Resource Officers. “We’re there to mentor young people... The problem with such scare tactics is that they are counterproductive to what should be a central focus of any SRO program: fostering positive relationships between cops and kids."

    source
    Scared Straight is based on the assumption that understanding the frightening consequences of illegal behavior will serve as a deterrent. This approach may work with adults, who are conscious of the reality of the loss of liberty and the unpleasantness of being incarcerated, but people familiar with adolescent development know that teens’ ability to anticipate consequences of their conduct is at a low point during adolescence. Some youth may wrongly interpret “Scared Straight” tactics as a challenge to prove their ability to escape the very consequences these programs hope will serve as deterrents.
  • Evaluators found that instead of scaring youth straight, “Scared Straight” programs generally increased crime between 1% and 28%.4
  • The University of Maryland's well-publicized review of over 500 evaluations of crime prevention strategies listed "Scared Straight" as a program that does not work.5
  • The 2001 Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence reached the same conclusion, saying that, “Numerous studies of Scared Straight have demonstrated that the program does not deter future criminal activities.”6

If it doesn’t work, than why do people do it?

  • A comparison of Treatment Types in Order of Effectiveness
    Desperate parents and program providers hoping to divert troubled youth from further misbehavior placed their hopes in a program they see touted as effective on TV, and policymakers opted to fund what appeared to be an easy fix to juvenile crime.7
  • These programs continue to be popular because they align with common cultural views that punishment and fear, (“getting tough on crime”), are the best approaches to reducing juvenile offending.
  • These programs are also very inexpensive (a Maryland “Scared Straight” program was estimated to cost less than $1.00 per participant), and some consider they provide an opportunity for some incarcerated adult offenders to “contribute productively” to society by preventing youngsters from following the same path.8

Now, what do the authorities say?

  • The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) of the U.S. Department of Justice publicly renounced these programs in August 2011. OJJDP stated that the programs’ failure has led it to stop federal funding for any “Scared Straight” program, or any program with a similar framework.

So, what does work with teenagers?Effective juvenile offender programs:

  • Provide large amounts of meaningful contact and are longer in duration.
  • Are designed by a researcher or have research as an influential component of the treatment setting.
  • Offer behavioral, skill-oriented, and multimodal treatment.
  • Are gender-specific and sensitive.

“Scared Straight” ProgramsMost successful programs: 9

  • Focus on behavior change through social interaction, role modeling and the role playing of positive behavior with people the offenders can relate to.
  • Target four or more of an offender’s risk factors and assess each individual offender’s needs.
  • Separate high and low-risk offenders.
  • Remain cognizant of peer influence and focus on building positive relationships.

Prepared by Paige Buckley for Strategies for Youth.

1. Laurie O. Robinson and Jeff Slowikowski, “Scary – and ineffective: Traumatizing at-risk kids is not the way to lead them away from crime and drugs,” Baltimore Sun, 31 January 2011

2. Laurie O. Robinson and Jeff Slowikowski, “Scary – and ineffective: Traumatizing at-risk kids is not the way to lead them away from crime and drugs,” Baltimore Sun, 31 January 2011

3. Anthony J. Schembri, “Scared Straight Programs: Jail and Detention Tours.”

4. Anthony Petrosino, Carolyn Turpin Petrosino and John Buelher, “’Scared Straight’ and Other Juvenile Awareness Programs to Preventing Juvenile Delinquency,” The Campbell Collaboration, 2004.

5. Anthony Petrosino, Carolyn Turpin Petrosino and John Buelher, “’Scared Straight’ and Other Juvenile Awareness Programs to Preventing Juvenile Delinquency,” The Campbell Collaboration, 2004.

6. “Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General,” Office of the Surgeon General, 2001.

7. Laurie O. Robinson and Jeff Slowikowski, “Scary – and ineffective: Traumatizing at-risk kids is not the way to lead them away from crime and drugs,” Baltimore Sun, 31 January 2011.

8. Anthony Petrosino, Carolyn Turpin Petrosino and John Buelher, “’Scared Straight’ and Other Juvenile Awareness Programs to Preventing Juvenile Delinquency,” The Campbell Collaboration, 2004.

9. O’Connor, C. (2008). What research tells us about effective interventions for juvenile offenders. What Works, Wisconsin Fact Sheet. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin–Madison/Extension.

BLOCK QUOTE. ill Palermo, “Resource Officers express criticism of use of ‘jail tours’ and mock arrests,” JDNews.com, 3 Dec 2002.

TABLE. Mark W. Lipsey, David B. Wilson and Lynn Cothern, “Effective Intervention for Serious Juvenile Offenders,” Juvenile Justice Bulletin, April 2000, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

 
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