Where’s the Evidence? A Top Ten List of Cochrane Reviews
Presented by the Canadian Cochrane Centre and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

8. “Scared straight” programs lead to more, not less, criminal behaviour

Programs like “scared straight” are designed to discourage youth from engaging in criminal behaviour by showing them what life is like in prison. A Cochrane Review showed that these programs not only fail to deter crime, they lead to more offending behavior.