The challenge
Policymakers wanted a cheap way to deter at-risk teenagers from a life of crime.
The case
Made famous by a 1978 documentary, Scared Straight programs take at-risk young people into adult prisons, where inmates confront them with the realities of incarceration. The idea was copied across US states and other countries because it was cheap and memorable. But when researchers pooled nine randomized trials with 946 young people, they found participants were more likely to offend later than similar young people who received no program at all. Some programs continued anyway, helped by popular TV coverage. The review's authors estimate that the intervention increases the odds of offending by between 1.6 to 1 and 1.7 to 1 compared with doing nothing.
Why it didn't work
Fear-based programs can backfire, and a compelling story is not evidence. This is the classic case for testing a program before scaling it.
Sources
- Petrosino, A., et al. (2013). 'Scared Straight' and other juvenile awareness programs for preventing juvenile delinquency. Campbell Systematic Reviews.
- Petrosino, A., et al. (2013). 'Scared Straight' and other juvenile awareness programs for preventing juvenile delinquency. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (co-published as Campbell Systematic Reviews 2013:5).
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