Cake15 First of all, I've known MANY people who have been in and out of prison. Like, big prison with murders and the like. This TV show portrays angry criminals being VERY inappropriate to minors. Threatening to rape them and beat them up. But wait, isn't threatening illegal? Yes it is but the officers allow it to happen because of the "scare factor". If they kids re-offend they are going to regardless. It's very ineffective. However, it's entertaining to watch when bored.

Patrici-hartigan1999 In scared straight, you will see a compilation of insulting, volgure, and quite frankly embarrassing behavior from "respectable officers", showing just how corrupt the police system is. If a normal person behaved this way to 10-16 year olds they would be locked away for years for disorderly conduct, verbal assault to a child, and assault to a minor. This shows real name should be "above the law, and can't be tamed." They use homosexual prisoners to tell the children how they should get in there cells and in addition threaten them sexually and the officers threaten to put them in calling them "fresh meat" and how they "like little boys". They give children who are in need of phsychiatric help a chance to be racist, homophobic, and have ptsd and an extreme fear of officers. They yell at there mom or act aggressive to anyone and they get to get scarred for life but yet people say it's not hard enough, let's just start beating them too. It's a viscouse cycle of aggression and fear with the people/children and police officers and government officials. This show will show you just how above the law you are if you're a cop.

djadrianleigh OK so back in 1978 when the world was a bit more naive about everything along came a TV Documentary Film called Scared Straight. First time ever two of the big cusswords that you just did not say on television was used. The Host/Narrator was Detective Columbo himself, Peter Falk. This was followed by Scared Straight 10 Years Later and 20 Years Later. The original Scared Straight inspired Jails and Prisons across the USA to start up their own version of the same program. Currently a made for TV version called Beyond Scared Straight is playing on A&E TV. Not as hard as the original version but it does the job of conveying what needs to be conveyed. Only reason this version seems a bit on the tame side is the fact A&E is owned by Disney Studios. If this show were to have been taken to say HBO or Showtime then it would be a no holds barred in your face version that brings back the harder elements that made the original version of Scared Straight work.The A&E Version has proved to be a success but also has drawn severe criticism for it's supposed endangering of the young juvenile offenders or "At Risk Teens" as they are called in pc terms. IMO Scared Straight is not hard enough for my liking. Today's teens are not like the teens of the 80s and 90s. Today they are smart mouth eye rolling idiots. Their parents are the children of my generation the 70s. Todays kids are raised on the idea that they would not be raised like the way grandma and grandpa did their parents. Their parents came from the old school home discipline ideology of "You're Grounded" and "Your dad is gonna put a belt strapping on your backside when he gets home."

lwb1998 Excellent first season, Second season is going on right now. Putting teens 12-18 through H-E-L-L to get them to Straighten up from Drugs, crime,violence,etc....teens do not know that life behind bars is so bad, until they experience life behind bars. So the parents of the teens put them through an Prevention/intervention basically to get them to straighten up.The strong content featured here, which includes cursing ("b--ch," "s-- t"), threatening, and discussions of criminal behavior, is offered within the specific context of helping young people. I loved it! watching that show with my kids was great it gave both me and my kids a reality check Betty in Atlanta,GaThe best way to change kids What i feel is that even though crude words are being used, kids these days are starting to use them even if parents think their kids don't. The country i'm staying does not have a jail that's anything like these, and maybe that's why the troublemakers here do not learn. No matter the crude words, violence, whatsoever, i really feel that this is one of the best ways to turn a kid's life around, especially if he/she has a chance of being jailed. Sitting at home watching this would not be as effective as getting it in real life. Charlotte in Greenbay,WIThis program has scared the wits out of teens across the country.