Friday, July 31, 2009

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The 'scared straight' concept Minister of Youth Desmond Bannister said in the House of Assembly during the recent budget debate that the government envisions having a National Youth Program that is "truly national in scope." This program, he said, will encompass "all aspects of youth development" and will be designed to reach "young men and women in our society who can be helped before they get into trouble, so that they can lead productive lives and not become menaces to society." There is no question that such a program can go a long way in addressing the serious crime problem that exists among segments of the youth in this country, as well as redirect the lives of youngsters who are vulnerable to the temptations of becoming criminals. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to think outside the box, so to speak, in dealing with this issue. One approach that has proven to be quite successful in the United States is a program called "Scared Straight," which was started in the 1970s by a group of inmates serving life sentences at a prison in New Jersey. As noted in a study done on the program's success, the concept involves "being brutally honest with children and adolescents considering a life of crime." "Scared Straight involved visits to prison by juvenile delinquents, enabling them to get a first-hand view of what life was like in prison," the study noted. "It was hoped that by experiencing prison life and hearing from the prisoners themselves about life behind bars children and adolescents would be deterred from criminal activity." The success of the Scared Straight program caught the attention of television executives, resulting in the production of a television documentary entitled "Scared Straight: Inside A Maximum Security Prison." "The TV show followed 17 juvenile offenders as they experienced prison life for two hours," the study noted. "During the show it was reported that about 8,000 juveniles had visited the prison and that 80 percent of them were reformed by the experience." Youth Minister Bannister certainly should look into inculcating some aspects of this program into the National Youth Program, especially with regard to those youths who are already menaces to society or heading in that direction. For example, their program activities should include organized visits to Her Majesty's Prison at Fox Hill to see first-hand the deplorable conditions in which inmates live. Being exposed to what it is like to be locked up in a poorly ventilated, cramped prison cell with three or four fellow inmates, with a "slop bucket" for a toilet and the other harsh realities of prison life may deter them from criminal activities in the future. Arrangements could also be made for them to get testimonies from inmates as to what it is like to be locked under such conditions. This approach to discouraging youngsters from embarking on a life of crime – and indeed of convincing those who have already been involved in criminal activities to turn their lives around – could also be used as part of an alternative sentencing program for youngsters who are convicted as first offenders. Rather than sentence them to prison, where they will most surely graduate into hardened criminals, they can be sentenced to do supervised community service for a period of time after having spent a day at Fox Hill Prison experiencing what life there is like. Quite possibly, once they have seen what it is like to be in prison, they may be "scared straight" into making a firm commitment to not be among the current 93 percent male population at Her Majesty's Prison in Fox Hill. Friday, July 3, 2009