Scared straight could come to students

By Juana Summers

Published Feb. 9, 2007

Crime and punishment could become more than just Russian literature for Missouri's public high school students.

Sen. Timothy Green, D-St. Louis, introduced a bill that would require all students in public high schools to attend a tour of state correctional facilities before their sophomore year. According to the bill, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would enforce the mandatory visits. The bill was introduced to the Missouri General Assembly Jan. 17 and has since been referred to the Senate Education Committee for further discussion.

"Basically, it's an idea that was brought forth by a constituent, and I thought it was a good idea to introduce," Green said. "My proposal is simple in nature. They would just go and visit the facility then they would possibly go to a reception room and have a few prisoners talk about daily life."

The Missouri School Boards' Association does not support Green's bill for three primary reasons, spokesman Brent Ghan said.

"First of all, such a trip to a correctional center, while it might be an eye-opening experience for some new students, would take away instructional time at school," he said. "Secondly, there would be some cost associated with this, and the bill is not clear who would pay for the cost. Thirdly, there is no evidence I'm aware of that these approaches work to change kids' behavior."

Ghan compared Green's bill to the Scared Straight program, which attempted to shock students so that they would make appropriate choices and not end up in jail or prison.

"Research indicated that it did not significantly change kids behavior in the long run at all," Ghan said. "Really there's no evidence that such an approach would work for kids."

Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Hauswirth said the organization does not have a formal opinion on the bill but has begun the process of looking at it more carefully.

"We are trying at this point to find out the impact it would have on our institutions," Hauswirth said.

Under the current regulations for the Missouri Department of Corrections, individuals under the age of 17 are not allowed to tour the facilities without specific approval from the Division of Adult Institutions Director.

Those 17 and older are allowed to take a tour, but they are generally not offered, Hauswirth said.

Ghan said the Missouri School Boards' Association does not contest the physical safety of the tours to Missouri's public high school students.

"I think people tour correctional facilities from time to time," Ghan said. "That doesn't seem to be much of an issue. It might be a very traumatic experience to some kids to face the harsh realities of prison. I could see where some parents could be concerned about that and would not want their children to go on such a tour."

But Green said this type of view into the life of Missouri's prisoners could be exactly what students need to deter them from further arrests and criminal offenses.

Green said he thinks speaking to actual prisoners in a state correctional facility would help students realize that when people are incarcerated, their freedoms are taken away from them, and the doors are physically shut behind them.

"We spent about eight percent of our general revenue tax dollars on correctional institutions and 11.4 percent on higher education," Green said. "I would personally prefer to spend more on higher education instead of incarceration."

Green said he sees his proposal as a way to discourage students from committing criminal offenses and being jailed in state institutions.

With one less individual imprisoned, he said that money could be transferred to other community needs.