Law enforcement will sometimes abuse their power by intimidating individuals to comply with their rules, and this is not okay. It is not rare for someone to be slightly afraid of law enforcement, and therefore never question their actions. However, it is totally okay to have some questions or concerns considering you are not entirely educated in the law. Law enforcement and security has always had a history of being in places in the event that something dangerous, or that required police involvement, occurs. Because of this, some times crime decreases. In other cases, such as in a setting with minors or students, some facilities have created programs who use scare tactics to ensure the children will not engage in criminal activity. These tactics included placing the minors or students in environments resulting from worse case scenarios; supposing they do not abide by the law. This is used to try and deprogram a minor’s unlawful behavior to avoid jail time, or even worse, death.
In some cases, these scare tactics are effective. They are sometimes, because children understand that these situations are not entirely real, more encouraging than scary. Because of this, officers or law enforcement may try to intimidate you by arresting you under any charge. Children or students tend to act out to avoid being embarrassed or seeming even remotely intimidated. If anything, these programs make students and minor’s feels as though they have something to prove. This is not legal and therefore may require legal counsel should things get out of control. The programs should not be put in the school at all because they may be counterproductive for all parties involved and will lead to more harm and danger.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of a scared-straight program and has been falsely arrested, be sure to speak with a skilled Dekalb County attorney as soon as possible. A skilled attorney will be able to review the details of the incident at hand and come to a resolve. With an attorney, charges are more likely to be reduced or dropped entirely. Should you know anyone who has been involved in these types of arrests or incidents, contact an attorney before it is too late to come to a reasonable solution.
Thanks to Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. for their insight into criminal law and “scared-straight programs.”
