MovieChat Forums > Beyond Scared Straight (2011) Discussion > If the programs don't work...

If the programs don't work...

posted 11 years ago by Criticman12
2 replies | jump to latest

...then why is this show still going on?

True, it's giving A&E more money and the kids in the show can change their ways. But here's the thing:

1. The programs only make the kids more angry and commit more crimes.

2. The kids that said that the program changed their lives could go back to doing injustice things and commit more crimes.

For example: One of the graduates from the original Scared Straight movie said that the program changed his life but a couple years ago, he murdered his neighbor and is now in prison because of that.

If you ask me, Beyond Scared Straight deserves to be cancelled and the Scared Straight programs should die.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Jordan_Haelend 10 years ago

The original Scared Straight was a load of rubbish. The claim was that it was something like 80% successful, a figure that came from the program's directors themselves. An independent audit showed a success rate of 4%.

Part of the fraud stemmed from the fact that the kids were divided into three groups: those who had never been in trouble (they just received a guided tour of the place,) a group of on again/off again offenders who were a bit harshly treated, and the real troublemakers, who received sadistic treatment. But when the people running the program compiled their statistics, they included group 1 with those who ceased to be a problem, thus inflating the success rate.

The Cons liked it because it allowed them to continue to act as anti-socially as ever, but now with the blessings of the state.