‘Scared straight’: VR penal correctional education comes to major Chinese cities

The VR initiatives are being rolled out across China as a strategy for helping people stay out of jail

The programmes include anti-drug content, tours of correctional facilities and even a simulated drink-driving car accident

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Shanghai is one of the major Chinese cities that is rolling out VR as a crime deterrent tool. Photo: Shanghai Community Corrections Administration

Published: 9:00am, 11 Feb 2022

Whether it is tours of prisons or talks in classrooms, “scared straight” programmes have existed for decades to deter people from committing crimes, but strict Covid-19 protocols have made them less tenable in China.

Now, virtual reality (VR) is being deployed across the country to give people a taste of jail, and hopefully prevent them from spending time there in real life.

Several programmes targeting at-risk youth and people who broke the law but were not jailed have been set up in several cities like Shanghai and Suzhou in eastern China and Tianjin in north China.

They are all designed to allow people to experience life in jail without visiting the prison in person.

The VR sessions even include simulated car crashes for people caught drink-driving. Photo: Shanghai Community Corrections Administration

The VR programmes often include people touring prison cells or working areas and listening to stories from incarcerated people.

Young people with a family member or personal history of drug use are often shown interactive anti-drug experiences. Drink-driving offenders actually get a front-row seat to a simulated car crash.