Beyond Scared Straight
At-risk teens confront prison realities in a single day.
From January 13, 2011 to September 3, 2015, A&E aired the reality series Beyond Scared Straight for nine seasons. The show followed at-risk teenagers on a one-day prison tour where inmates spoke about the harsh truths of incarceration. It took inspiration from the 1978 Oscar-winning documentary Scared Straight! and was executive produced by that film's director, Arnold Shapiro, alongside Paul Coyne. In June 2015, the network announced the series would end after season 9.
Quick Facts
- Inspired by
- Scared Straight!
- Seasons
- 9
- Episodes
- 83
- Network
- A&E
- First aired
- 13 January 2011
- Last aired
- 3 September 2015
Facts from the source article.
Summary
Inspired by the 1978 documentary Scared Straight!, this series follows juvenile crime prevention programs inside American prisons and jails. Each hour-long episode tracks several at-risk teenagers as they face harsh confrontations from inmates and law enforcement. The episode begins with personal interviews where the teens explain their ongoing misbehavior. They then go through a booking process, surrendering items like jewelry, belts, and hats, and sometimes changing into prison jumpsuits. Inside the facility, they tour cell blocks, interact with inmates, eat prison food, and may endure aggressive military-style boot camp discipline. Inmates share their personal stories of how they ended up incarcerated. An emotional moment allows the teens to call their parents using the prison’s visitor phone system. The episode ends with a one-month follow-up, revealing whether the teens have changed their ways or continued down a troubled path.
Controversy
The television series has no involvement with creating the juvenile diversion programs it documents, filming programs already in jails and prisons across the country. Two Department of Justice officials argued that the program was not only ineffective but potentially harmful. The series has been criticized for placing teens in jail with adults, considered life-threatening and dangerous, and for allegedly violating the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.
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