NCJ Number
180756
Date Published
1997
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video depicts life in juvenile and adult correctional institutions and presents readings from letters from youth and adults who have served or are now serving time around the country, with emphasis on the reasons they joined gangs, their personal experiences with gangs, and their feelings and experiences during incarceration.
Abstract
A printed discussion leader's guide accompanies the video, notes that the program aims to deter youth from juvenile delinquency and crime, and offers a synopsis of the content and suggestions for questions to ask and issues to discuss with students. The video begins with pictures of unhappy faces of people of different races, sexes, and racial backgrounds, ending with a youth whose face becomes cancelled as if it were a stamp and with a sound that corresponds to the shutting of prison doors. The juvenile and adult inmates address their letters to their family and friends. The letters explore the benefits they sought when they joined the gang, the contrast between their expectations and the realities of the gang lifestyle, their reactions to being incarcerated, and their experiences in prison. The letters note that some of the same factors that attracted them to gangs are those they experienced while incarcerated; these included tests of their masculinity and living with constant fear in a dangerous setting. The writers also speak of their negative feelings about their former involvement in gang violence and killings and the vulnerability they feel in prison. Recurring themes include the desire to undo what has been done, to start over again, and to make better choices in the future. The readers are well-known male and female actors.