Perhaps this would have made a good Halloween episode? Probably not. Anyway, this episode honors April Fool's day by examining a foolish endeavor: Scared Straight programs. We review the scientific research and philosophy underlying the idea of Scared Straight. Unsurprisingly, this is an idea that is so bad that even the cops don't like it. So, why does it persist...?

Recommendations

Abraham: Zootopia 2
Shane: A Wilhelm Scream - Cheap Heat (https://open.spotify.com/album/4fcuCuXF4E22R8Imztwbio?si=62c224dddd324aa6)

Holidays (4/1/2026):

April Fools Day
Boomer Bonus Day
Edible Book Day
Fossil Fools Day
International Tatting Day
Library Snap Shot Day
Lupus Alert Day
National Atheist Day
National Fun Day
National Jump in Muddy Puddles Day
National One Cent Day
National Sourdough Bread Day
Poetry and The Creative Mind Day
St. Stupid Day
APAWS International Pooper Scooper Week
Golden Rule Week
Laugh at Work Week
Medication Safety Week
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week

Links and References:

https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourcecenter/content.ashx/cops-p288-pub.pdf
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7783688/
https://www.wested.org/resource/scared-straight/
https://sites.bu.edu/daniellerousseau/2018/12/12/do-all-juvenile-prevention-programs-work/
http://users.soc.umn.edu/~uggen/Petrosino_Annals_03.pdf
https://methods.cochrane.org/equity/scared-straight
https://www.prindleinstitute.org/2021/06/re-examining-scared-straight-programs/
https://www.djj.state.fl.us/content/download/23879/file/scared-straight-(july-2018).pdf?version=2
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/doing-what-doesnt-work/
Petrosino, Anthony, Carolyn Turpin-Petrosino, Meghan E. Hollis-Peel, Julia G. Lavenberg, and Alexis Stern. 2014. Scared Straight and Other Juvenile Awareness Programs for Preventing Juvenile Delinquency. No. 12 of Crime Prevention Research Review. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
Petrosino A, Turpin-Petrosino C, Hollis-Peel ME, Lavenberg JG. 'Scared Straight' and other juvenile awareness programs for preventing juvenile delinquency. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD002796. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002796.pub2.
https://www.college.police.uk/research/crime-reduction-toolkit/scared-straight

https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/1033/Wsipp_Evidence-Based-Public-Policy-Options-to-Reduce-Crime-and-Criminal-Justice-Costs-Implications-in-Washington-State_Full-Report.pdf

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