Then, at the opposite end are the Catholic nuns, who are already deterred. “First, the undeterrable, the psychopaths, where deterrence doesn’t work at all. “There are three general types,” he said. Most helpful to the judges in the audience was Finckenauer’s discussion of deterrence in the general population. “Kids don’t see beaten down losers.” It’s a disconnect. “Big, muscular, tough guys are what the kids see during a prison tour as the inmates yell and scream at them in the hopes of scaring them out of committing a crime,” Finckenauer said. That’s why the television series is popular with adults, but unsuccessful with kids. “Scared straight programs are developed by adults for kids, but kids don’t react the same way as adults,” Finckenauer said. What young people react to is: (1) How swift is the punishment in terms of the behavior? (2) How certain is it that a consequence will occur? and (3) How severe is the punishment? The extreme nature of the punishment shown in “scared straight” programs doesn’t match the expectations of young people. They believe they might not get caught when they think about committing a crime. “Kids know how hit and miss the criminal justice system is. They are impulsive, and think short term, especially when it comes to punishment.”įinckenauer mentioned a kind of “optimism” that works against vicarious deterrence. “Teenagers don’t think like that, they don’t think logically or long term. “Those programs require young people to project into the future,” Finckenauer said. First, “Scared straight” programs arise out of the concept of “vicarious deterrence,” which he defined as “avoiding behavior by experiencing what happens to others.” Will it change when they can’t fight back?” Why wouldn’t it work on at-risk teens? What was wrong with the headline: “They think they’re fighters. After all, I thought, I certainly would have been “scared straight” after experiencing a day in prison, including being yelled at by brutal inmates, clanging bars, menacing guards, etc. I confess, I was one of the judges who accepted the evidence that “scared straight,” programs didn’t work, but I couldn’t figure out why. Finckenauer, author of “Scared Straight! and the Panacea Phenomenon,” cogently explained why those programs don’t work by examining the concept of “deterrence” as applied to teenage thinking and behavior. The show is a spin off of the multiple award-winning documentary films also produced by Arnold Shapiro.īut do “scared straight” programs really work to reduce juvenile crime? “No,” claimed Professor James Finckenauer, Ph.D., from Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice, in his address to the National Conference of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in New York City in July. The hit series from Disney’s A&E Network became the most watched original series launch in the network’s history with an audience of 3.7 million people. The “Beyond Scared Straight” message: “In prison for a day to stay out for life” certainly appeals to a television audience.
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