SCARE TACTICS DON'T WORK

The anti-drugs video showing the shocking image of the dead Rachel Whitear
(Drug victim's parents defend death images, March 2) was made to scare
young people so that they don't use drugs. It seems common sense, but the
evidence is against it. In another area of prevention, a recent research
review of scare tactics aimed at juvenile delinquents has shown that they
do not work.

In the US, "scared straight" programmes take teenagers into prisons to
frighten them into avoiding crime. A systematic review of several
evaluations of these programmes concludes that (in the words of a summary)
"scared straight-like programmes not only are ineffective but are likely to
increase crime and delinquency."

As you report there is no evidence that the Leah Betts video reduced
ecstasy use. Neither will the Rachel Whitear video reduce heroin use.

Tackling drugs problems requires more thoughtful approaches. We must not
follow the tabloid tendency to focus on the extremes of young people's drug
use when the experience of the average drug-using teenager is so different
- - and so often enjoyable.

We have to start with young people's perspectives and be rigorous in our
assessment of our interventions; only then will we have a chance of
influencing their behaviour and reducing drug-related deaths.

Richard Ives, London, richard@educari.com