Beyond Scared Straight |

Behind the Bars

VIDEO

• FULL EPISODE | 43:56

  

  Albuquerque, NM: Dance, Bieber, Dance

  Airdate: 10/03/2013

• BONUS | 3:00

  

  Sneak Peek: Floyd County, GA

• BONUS | 2:15

  

  Million Dollar Inmates

• FULL EPISODE | 42:11

  

  Hampton Roads Regional Jail, VA

  Airdate: 01/19/2012

• FULL EPISODE | 42:59

  

  Queen Anne's County, MD

  Airdate: 01/15/2012

• FULL EPISODE | 42:48

  

  Western Tidewater Regional Jail, VA

  Airdate: 12/29/2011

• FULL EPISODE | 41:58

  

  Jessup

  Airdate: 03/03/2011

• BONUS CLIP | 2:43

  

  Boot Camp in the Basement

• BONUS CLIP | 2:18

  

  That Sinking Feeling

• BONUS CLIP | 3:12

  

  Jailhouse Roc

• BONUS CLIP | 3:10

  

  Deadly Quiet

• BONUS CLIP | 2:24

  

  Ten Angry Men

• BONUS CLIP | 2:34

  

  Leave Your ID at the Door

• BONUS CLIP | 2:34

  

  Two Sets of Rules

• BONUS CLIP | 3:12

  

  It's the Deputy Lyle Show

Behind the Bars | Season 4, #6: On the Road

by Adam Lawrence, Production Manager - Hit the comments section.

Adam Lawrence, Production Manager

Each day on the road for the "Beyond Scared Straight" film crew and myself is a memorable experience. We never know what to expect...even when we return to a jail we have already visited.

Coming up on July 18th at 10pm on A&E, "Beyond Scared Straight" returns to St. Clair County Jail in Illinois. We've been here a few times, encountering two of our most memorable inmates, "Ice Mike" ("Put this Kool-Aid on your lips!") and the quick-tempered "Hustle Man." St. Clair County Jail sits in the shadow of St. Louis' gang activity, and it's one of the toughest jails we have visited.

This time, "Hustle Man" loses his cool when one of the teens refuses to comb another inmate's chest hair. Yes, you read that right. As I said: memorable and unexpected.

As the Production Manager, I travel a lot for this series. It's been two months since I last stepped foot inside my Hollywood apartment, which is now really just a storage locker. In that time I've crossed the country, going from jail to jail to bring you brand new episodes. What's life like on the road with the "Beyond Scared Straight" film crew?

Let's start at the airport. Carrying 40 cases of equipment with smiles on our faces, we're a group you'd never want in front of you in line. Sorry about that. After being on the road together for almost four years, the crew has become a family and together we have learned many do's and don'ts.

Do: Sample the local cuisine. Don't: Eat the jail food! (That's a mistake I made while filming the pilot in Jessup, MD, which I vowed never to do again!!!)

I deal with logistics and scheduling of the crew, and shoot a third camera in the jail. The first lesson I learned as Production Manager was that all of the at-risk kids that go through the jail tours have one thing in common: They are beyond unreliable!

Each night after making the next day's schedule, I reluctantly wait for an expected but dreaded phone call. Ring-ring, "We lost another kid." Dropouts and no-shows are sadly a common occurrence on this series because very few teens want to think about their own behavior, let alone come face-to-face with inmates. It's unfortunate because each week I see these programs drastically change kids' lives for the better.

For me, I was "scared straight" the first time I walked into a prison, the doors slamming shut behind me. It's quite an unsettling feeling, knowing that there is no way out unless someone bigger than me allows it. Then comes the smell. Not all jails smell alike, but none of them smell good. Take my word for it.

Unlike other TV shows I've worked on, there is an element of real danger during production. When we are filming in one of the country's most crime-ridden neighborhoods or rubbing shoulders with the country's most dangerous criminals, I always have to be on my toes. (I hope my mom's not reading this). I give my crew all the credit in the world for doing their job without fear and I hope I look fearless too. I doubt I looked fearless when I was accidentally left in a prison yard with 400 screaming inmates.

Whether I'm being purred at by "Green Eyes" in Chowchilla or feeling the hot breath of a towering inmate named "Six-Nine" in Lieber, life on this series is never boring. Holding a camera five feet away from a compression grenade and being thrown back a foot is not typical in the workplace, but when your temporary office is a prison cell block, you punch in and brace for the shock. It's what we do and love, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

One of the biggest benefits of being on the road is visiting amazing places and experiencing the peculiar local cuisine. While I am not the most ambitious foodie, some members of the crew embrace culinary adventures. Whether it's pig snoot in Illinois, alligator in Florida, or goat in Georgia, there always seems to be a contest over which of us will try the craziest dishes.

Meeting the locals is also a huge benefit of being on the road. Traveling around the county, I meet such passionate fans of the show. We were recently filming in Georgia and one of the locals learned that our flight had been delayed for four hours. He came to the airport with buckets of tasty hot wings from his restaurant, thanking us for the work we do. Talk about southern hospitality!

Being on the road is sometimes like being on safari. We've seen roadrunners, alligators, dolphins, bald eagles, snakes, armadillos, deer, coyotes, stingrays, horses, and even a duck that chased our producer around a yard. Once, a cat jumped into our van, cozied up between camera cases, and then refused to leave. We recently filmed at a jail in New Mexico where eight cows began grazing in front of the entrance to the jail. One cow even tried to enter through the front door. Big budget movies pay a fortune for that kind of production value and we got it for free!

Weather is always a factor on the road and we have to be prepared. While filming "Beyond Scared Straight," our crew has been caught in a tornado in Oklahoma, an earthquake in Maryland, a blizzard in West Virginia, torrential rain in St. Louis, and a hurricane in Virginia. At times like those, filming inside the sturdy walls of a jail doesn't seem so bad. Luckily, no crew members have been harmed in the making of this documentary series.

Working on "Beyond Scared Straight" has been a life-changing experience. By having a dream and working hard, I get to spend my days with people I respect and meet people who are changing lives. So many of the inmates I have met gave up on their dreams long ago, but I encourage any of our viewers, many of whom are like the teens on our series, to never give up striving to live a positive life.

Being on the road has taught me to appreciate the freedom so many inmates have lost. I can travel, meet new people, help change a few lives for the better, and even eat pig snoot (that's the pig's nose, folks) in Illinois. All in a day's work.