Scared Straight

Book: Finckenauer, James and Patricia Gavin. 1999. Scared Straight: The Panacea Phenomenon Revisited. Illinois: Waveland Press.

 

DEFINITION AND HERITAGE

Scared Straight was a movie title used by Arnold Sharpiro in 1978 or 1979.

This movie was aired across the U.S. and described the project of a group of lifers in the Rahway State Prison.

Question: what are today's off springs of the scared straight idea?

I argue that the Scared Straight program was already implemented: "The first degree of torture was the sight of the instruments. In the case of children or persons over the age of seventy, one did not go beyond that stage" (Foucault 1977 Discipline and Punish, p.40)

http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/schneider/castle/castle.htm

 

THEORIES

What are the underlying theories?  Why should scared straight work?

 

Overhead

Deterrence is based on the assumption that punishing individuals who are convicted of crimes provides an example for potential violators. 

These potential violators are assumed to be rational beings that are trying to avoid punishment will not violate the law.

=> rational choice theory

“Doism is the naïve and overly optimistic belief that it is better to do something than nothing”(p.15).

 

EFFECTIVENESS

 

Overhead

Experimental: Scared Straight treatment

Control: no treatment

Recidivism: juvenile records tracked for 6 month

·       Failure: one or more offences

·       Success: no offense

 

Success

Failure

Experimental

59%

41%

Control

89%

11%

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