Scared Straight! was a 1978 documentary in which at-risk youth were exposed to the realities of prison to deter them from offending. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and inspired...

Scared Straight! was a 1978 documentary in which at-risk youth were exposed to the realities of prison to deter them from offending. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and inspired other programs, including the A&E series Beyond Scared Straight. The documentary impressed the public and “Scared Straight” type programs across the country received public funding from state and local legislatures. The program appeared to offer an inexpensive, quick, and commonsense solution to a complex and serious problem. The problem is that not only do these type of programs not detour offending, they promote it. According to research by the Pew Charitable Trusts, “The truth is that scared straight programs don’t work. Rigorous, peer-reviewed research has shown that at-risk youth exposed to such programs are more likely to commit future offenses and be incarcerated than their counterparts who don’t participate.” The Pew Charitable Trusts claim that lawmakers often fund dysfunctional and ineffective delinquent treatment programs because they do not have “the data and research to discern which programs and policies yield the best outcomes.” The Pew Charitable Trusts advocates that states should insist on evidence-based research when supporting programs. Why are scared straight programs so popular with the public?