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: 

1. https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourcecenter/content.ashx/cops-p288-pub.pdf
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7783688/
3. https://www.wested.org/resource/scared-straight/
4. https://sites.bu.edu/daniellerousseau/2018/12/12/do-all-juvenile-prevention-programs-work/
5. http://users.soc.umn.edu/~uggen/Petrosino_Annals_03.pdf
6. https://methods.cochrane.org/equity/scared-straight
7. https://www.prindleinstitute.org/2021/06/re-examining-scared-straight-programs/
8. https://www.djj.state.fl.us/content/download/23879/file/scared-straight-(july-2018).pdf?version=2
9. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/doing-what-doesnt-work/ 
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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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