Well-meaning programs can have harmful effects! Lessons from experiments of programs such as scared straight

Despite their importance in assessing the impact of policies, outcome evalu ations-and in particular randomized experiments-are relatively rare. The ra tionalizations used to justify the absence of outcome evaluations include s uch assertions as "we know our programs are working," "they can't possibly harm anyone," and "if they only help one kid they're worth it." Using preli minary results from a systematic review of nine randomized experiments of t he Scared Straight, or prison visitation program, the authors show that a p opular and well-meaning program can have harmful effects. They use these re sults to argue for more rigorous evaluations to test criminal justice inter ventions.