Scared Straight Program Analysis

Crime in the U.S has actually gone up since 1970 and they have also declined in the 1990’s and slowly going down in the U.S. today. Though crime has gone down as a whole, violent crimes have increased due to the non-stop violence that’s been going on for the past 30 years, property crimes have decreased as well. Gun homicides have gone down nearly 49% since the 90’s. There are 73.8 million youth under the age of 18 in the United States in 2012, 1.3 million of those juveniles have had criminal cases and that is just a statistic for those whom have gotten caught. I know plenty of young teens where I am from in Omaha, Nebraska that go down the wrong path that don’t have the right guidance they need to avoid these statistics. A program such …show more content…
A lot of people till this day think that the “Scared Straight Program” is very effective. During my research on the program multiple sources says that it’s a good program because of how inexpensive it is to get these juveniles in these programs, in some states it only cost a dollar each participant. Based on the research the “Scared Straight Program” it has succeeded because it gets the attention of the youth, especially with it being on television, parents see these episodes and want their children on these shows because they feel it will benefit their troubled child. According to the (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange) the “Scared Straight Program” at-risk kids fill out a survey at the end of their visit and most say that they will “clean up their act” and I believe it’s a good start by at least saying that you’re going to change your act but “actions speak louder than words” which we hear all the time. Mom’s feel good about their kids when they leave this program hoping that it’s a life changer and that their kids don’t want to continue their bad …show more content…
The “Scared Straight Program” was created for inmates to scare at-risk youth so that they can change their lives around not only for their parents but for themselves as well. The “Scared Straight Program” is tied to “Beyond Scared Straight” Television series, that were documentaries at first that turn into a series of shows. According to the (Crime Solutions) article over 60% of the youth have been exposed to violent crimes, abuse included. Some sources say that the program has got the attention of a lot of the youth but other sources say otherwise according to the (Strategies of Youth) youth crime after the program has gone up 1% to 28%. I believe this program can be effective as it used to be when it first started, with a few tweaks and more research on the certain violent crimes the youth commit, I believe this program can make a major difference for kids who are in danger of their