Watch Cradle to Jail
- 2011
- 1 Season
Cradle To Jail is a reality show that focuses on troubled youth. The show is mainly about kids who have been arrested for various crimes and what happens to them once they are in the system. Viewers get a very real picture of what day-to-day life is like for these kids once they are locked up. Viewers also get to see the entire arraignment process and the final outcome in each case.
The show features the Lake County Juvenile System in Indiana, inmate and staff interviews, and a look ahead to what might happen to those inmates. Each episode centers on at least two inmates and their accounts of why they wound up doing time. Many realize the mistakes they have made but have no idea how to get on a better path. Several inmates stress that living outside the law is all they know.
Many inmates start out on the streets due to lack of parental supervision. Many of them have also fled abusive homes. These kids have nowhere to go so it's inevitable that they wind up running with a street gang. They are promised protection and guidance by older gang members giving them the feeling of family that these kids are often missing.
Throughout the show, kids give firsthand accounts of their home lives and the problems they face every day. In many cases most of the kids have parents who are incarcerated themselves.
Each episode follows inmates from arrival at the detention facility to the court arraignment. Viewers get to know the staff members of the detention center and what they try to do for the kids who are incarcerated. There are several counseling and educational programs to help these kids turn their lives around. Many of those programs prove to be unsuccessful as the same inmates keep returning to juvenile court.
Juvenile Court judges do everything they can to help these troubled children follow a different path. The ultimate goal is to keep these kids from getting in trouble once they become adults. Once a child turns eighteen, the juvenile court system can no longer intervene. Many kids can no longer get the help they need and the cycle only continues.