Teenage arrests down in Horry County, DJJ program to thank?

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This year, compared to 2008, there have been 500 less arrests of Horry County teens and some say its a  South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) program.

WMBF News ran a special report Thursday, September 1st, highlighting the DJJ program. The program is very reminiscent of the Scared Straight program that has been around for decades and was the subject of an Academy Award winning 1979 documentary. According to the DJJ website they are a treatment and rehabilitative agency for the state's juveniles with the goal to:

...protect the public and reclaim juveniles through prevention, community programs, education, and rehabilitative services in the least restrictive environment  possible...

Unfortunately, according to a piece that ran in the Baltimore Sun this past January; in response to the A&E program Beyond Scared Straight the Department of Justice says that Scared Straight programs are not effective and potentially harmful to teens. 

So, we ask you readers, is the decreased number of teen arrests a result of this program or is it something else?

Head over to WMBF News for the full write-up and and video of the report.

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