''Scared Straight!'' is a 1978 American documentary directed by Arnold Shapiro. Narrated by

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series '' Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...

, the subject of the documentary is a group of juvenile delinquents and their three-hour session with actual convicts. Filmed at

Rahway State Prison East Jersey State Prison (EJSP) is a medium-security prison operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections in Avenel, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. It was established in 1896 as Rahway State Prison, and was the first reformatory in Ne ...

, a group of inmates known as the "lifers" berate, scream at, and terrify the young offenders in an attempt to "scare them straight", so that those teenagers will avoid

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

life. The documentary aired on television in the late 1970s, uncensored; it marked the first time that the profane words "

fuck ''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to ar ...

" and "

shit ''Shit'' is a word considered to be vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British ...

" were broadcast on many networks. Some broadcasters (an example being CFQC, a

CTV Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...

affiliate in Canada) added locally produced segments in which experts discussed both the content of the documentary and the rationale behind airing it uncensored. The documentary received several awards, including the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosoph ...

. It found that most of the participants did not reoffend. However, studies that compared and evaluated the effects of various Scared Straight programs against a

control group In the design of experiments, hypotheses are applied to experimental units in a treatment group. In comparative experiments, members of a control group receive a standard treatment, a placebo, or no treatment at all. There may be more than one t ...

have concluded that they increase the likelihood of participants later committing crimes.

Overview

Teenagers in this documentary and the 1980 sequel, ''Scared Straight! Another Story'', ranged from 15- to 19-year-old repeat offenders of crimes ranging from petty theft, drug addiction, and

public intoxication Public intoxication, also known as "drunk and disorderly" and "drunk in public", is a summary offense in some countries rated to public cases or displays of drunkenness. Public intoxication laws vary widely by jurisdiction, but usually require an ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

ing, and

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and ...

. None of the "graduates" of the original documentary have since been convicted of a felony except for Angelo Speziale, who in 2010 was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the rape and murder of his neighbor in 1982 (four years after the film was made). Most were from the tri-state (

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) area and agreed to accept the experiment in lieu of jail time and/or

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

/public service. The producers asked for a range of youth that came from poor inner-city neighborhoods to the affluent suburbs of New York City. The "Lifers" featured in the film were primarily convicted of murder, while others were in for armed robbery, and some committed both. One of the actions seen in the film, commonly done at the prison, forces the juveniles to take off their shoes, either by themselves, or by the lifers, pulling them off the juveniles' feet and throwing them into a mixed pile, as a lesson about stealing from somebody. At film's end, the teenagers say that they have decided that they do not want to end up in jail. The film ends with a "roll call" of the teens, revealing that most were "scared straight", though a few were said to have reoffended.

Awards

The film won the

in 1978. It also won

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s for Outstanding Individual Achievement–Informational Program and Outstanding Informational Program. ''Scared Straight!'' won the 1978

George Polk Awards The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awa ...

for Film Documentary.

Preservation

The

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

preserved ''Scared Straight!'' in 2007.

Follow-ups

The original ''Scared Straight!'' was followed by ''Scared Straight! Another Story'' (1980), ''Scared Straight! 10 Years Later'' (1987), and (on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and UPN) ''Scared Straight! 20 Years Later'' (1999). On January 13, 2011, A&E introduced the new series '' Beyond Scared Straight'', executive produced by Arnold Shapiro and Paul Coyne. According to the A&E website profile for the series: "Each one-hour episode focuses on a different inmate-run program in the U.S., and follows four or five at-risk teens before they attend the program, throughout their day inside the prison, immediately afterwards, and then follows up with them one month later to see the lasting impact of the experience on their lives. ''Beyond Scared Straight'' is about transforming the lives of young people through intervention and second chances." In addition, each episode ends with updates of the teen participants since the taping of the program, citing both successes and some failures in their post-prison behavior, and unfortunate news of passings or incarcerations that happen if teens end up down this path. On February 1, 2011, the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange reported that one of the graduates of the original ''Scared Straight!'' program at Rahway, Angelo Speziale, later became a convicted felon. In 2010, Speziale was convicted of the 1982

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

of Michele Mika, a teenage girl who lived next door to him, and is currently serving a sentence of 25 years to life in Rahway. In ''Scared Straight: 20 Years Later'', Speziale claimed that the ''Scared Straight!'' experience changed him, although he admitted in the film that he had failed to lead a straight life. "I broke the law three times after I visited Rahway. Twice right after, still at the age of 17 and 18, and then about five years ago, I did fifteen days in the county jail for disorderly conduct." He was later arrested for

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on item ...

in 2005 and a DNA sample linked him to the 1982 cold case rape/murder that led to his imprisonment. A New Jersey law enforcement source has confirmed that Speziale is the same person who appeared in both documentaries. On August 18, 2011, A&E premiered the second season of ''Beyond Scared Straight'', once again in the midst of controversy. Joe Vignati, director of Justice Programs at the Governor's Office for Children and Families in Georgia, writes at the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange: "After becoming the highest rated program in the history of the Disney-owned A&E network, a new season of this 'reality' show returns to titillate the curious and misinformed." Also, in light of the Speziale case, the Campaign for Youth Justice has petitioned A&E to cancel ''Beyond Scared Straight'' because they claim that the show promotes "the spread of a noxious program" and may be in violation of federal law and standards set forth by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

Reception and legacy

As a result of the film, many states introduced "scared straight" programs in an attempt to rehabilitate young delinquents. In April 1978, James Finckenauer, a professor of the

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

School of Criminal Justice, began a test of the Scared Straight program, using a

, something that had not been done previously. His study concluded that children who attended Rahway were more likely to commit crimes than those who did not. A

meta-analysis A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting m ...

of the results of a number of Scared Straight and similar programs found that they actively increased crime rates and lead to higher re-offense rates compared to control groups that did not receive the intervention. The cause of the increase in crime is not clear. The UK

College of Policing The College of Policing is a professional body for the police in England and Wales. It was established in 2012 to take over a number of training and development roles that were the responsibility of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) ...

agrees that there is "very strong quality" evidence that Scared Straight programs cause an increase in crime. In 2011, two

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

officials wrote an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. ...

piece in ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'' describing scared straight programs as "ineffective" and "potentially harmful." The officials, OJJDP Acting Administrator Jeff Slowikowski and Laurie O. Robinson wrote that "when it comes to our children,"

policymakers Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an org ...

and parents should "follow evidence, not anecdote." In 2004, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy estimated that each dollar spent on Scared Straight programs incurred costs of $203.51.

Cultural references

Television series '' Hardcastle and McCormick'' had an end of first-season episode called "Scared Stiff" in which teenage boys were taken to a state prison to scare them out of further crimes as did '' Get a Life'' first season's "Bored Straight" episode. '' Married... with Children''s sixth season "Rites of Passage" has Al saying how the Department of Juvenile Corrections bused some juveniles to his shoe store and made them spend over 3 hours watching Al work to show why it was so important to stay out of trouble and in school until even the most hardened punk was "crying like a baby". In 1984, the syndicated animated series '' The Adventures of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' used the ''Scared Straight!'' formula in the episode "Busted." There, after the main protagonists are arrested for being accessories to grand theft auto—they had accepted a ride from their new friend, Larry, who admits only after initiating a police pursuit that he had just stolen the car—the police sergeant and court agree to drop the charges against the Cosby Kids ... but only after giving them a tour of a maximum-security prison, where the kids are frightened by the inmates and their behavior. In the end, the Cosby Kids vow to stay out of trouble and promptly disassociate with Larry. Between 2008 and 2012, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' satirized ''Scared Straight!''-type programs in a series of eight sketches. In the third-season episode of '' Arrested Development'' entitled "Notapusy," a former prison inmate mistakes a gay conversion therapy seminar entitled "Startled Straight" for a ''Scared Straight!''-type program and lectures the group of men about the horrors of incarceration, especially the prevalence of homosexual prison sex. "A Date with the Booty Warrior," a third-season episode of ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band * ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...

'', features a group of children participating in a program called "Scared Stiff." However, the program is subverted when the children and prisoners collaborate to organize a

prison strike A prison strike is an inmate strike or work stoppage that occurs inside a prison, generally to protest poor conditions or low wages for penal labor. Prison strikes may also include hunger strikes. United States At the national level, declares "en ...

. Rap artist GZA utilised samples of Peter Falk's narration for the song "Path of Destruction" from the album ''

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...

''. Comedian Tom Segura referenced the Scared Straight episode of 1999 that he claims "aired once" in his Netflix comedy special ''Mostly Stories''. In the ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, an ...

'' episode "Scared Straight", Beavis and Butt-Head are sent to prison for a day as part of a Scared Straight program. They end up befriending some inmates who share their passion for

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands develope ...

, and decide to sneak back in to stay longer. In the ''

Drake & Josh ''Drake & Josh'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows two teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker ( Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols ( Josh Peck) as they live together despite opposite personalities. The ...

'' episode "Steered Straight", Drake Parker and Josh Nichols are sent to jail as part of a program that's similar to Scared Straight. However, on the way to the jail, the police car they were riding in is hijacked by an actual criminal, who mistakes the brothers for a criminal duo.

References

External links

A&E TV Series "Beyond Scared Straight"

JJS Op-Ed

Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

* * *
The film's Best Documentary Feature win at Oscars' official YouTube channel

Scared Straight! review

"The Real Legacy of Scared Straight"
{{authority control 1978 documentary films 1978 films American documentary films Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners Documentary films about crime in the United States Documentary films about incarceration in the United States Films directed by Arnold Shapiro Prison-related organizations Films about bullying Prisons in New Jersey Primetime Emmy Award-winning broadcasts 1970s English-language films 1970s American films