When Ted was about 13 years old and first starting to get in trouble, I ordered a DVD of Scared Straight from eBay for him. Scared Straight was a documentary released in 1978 and narrated by Peter Falk.The documentary follows a group of cocky juvenile delinquents as they are introduced to actual convicts at Rahway State Prison in an attempt to end their criminal ways. The “lifers” scream at and terrify the teenagers in an attempt to “scare them straight”.
While a DVD can convey the message to some extent, I’m sure the actual experience made a much greater impression. I wish Florida sponsored a similar program for delinquent youngsters to participate in - before they possibly end up like Ted ... in prison.
Scared Straight is still available on eBay. Here is a clip from the documentary:
I've been reading your blogs everyday since someone listed your web site on another site. This one about Scared Straight reminded me of the time my ex-husband took our 13 year old son to have a visit at the Pinellas County JDC when he was acting up with a bad attitude ever since his dad left us. I didn't know about this visit until afterwards. Apparently, my ex had called to ask if it would be okay to bring his son in for a visit. I'm not sure if they still allow this. My son had told me that he was very scared and that he thought he was going to be left there. When his dad left, the officer had grabbed our son by the neck and lifted him off the floor, yelling in my son's face, asking him if he wants to continue having a bad attitude. Then my son was told to strip down to just his boxers. Had to do push-ups & sit-ups. My son had tears in his eyes. When I found out about this visit, I was upset, but now I realize that it really helped. My son is now married and has a 2 1/2 yr old son and had never gotten into trouble as a teen. His father on the other hand didn't do so well for himself, as he ended up in jail on a second DUI. He was sentenced to 10 months, but after only serving 1 month, he became very ill & was transported to a hospital where he died the following day. He was kept in the jail's medical wing for 10 days with jaundice before being taken to the hospital. He died of Hep. C. Keep your head up Ted and I wish you all the best. I really hope that your blog and whatever you decide to do when you get out, will make a big difference in the way the inmates are being treated in jails & prisons.
ReplyDeleteScared Straight programs have been known, for quite awhile now, to NOT keep youth from jail. They have actually INCREASED incarceration for the youth that have participated in the program. There are better ways at deterrence and crime control. http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/06-10-1201.pdf Although I can see logically why people would think this program would work, there is ALOT of evidence against Sacred Straight.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to get my daughter in a program like this since she started getting in trouble about 3 years ago. I was told there was nothing that I could do until she was actually in the system. Its a shame that they allow these kids to mess up so bad before anyting can be done. By that time what can really be done to make them productive citizens.
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