New London — State Rep. Ernest Hewett is working with the state Department of Correction on a program in which longtime prisoners would talk to teens who have been in trouble or are headed that way.

And the New London Democrat has an idea who he'd like to see enrolled first.

"I would love to get hold of those kids, the ones that scared that kid with BB guns," said Hewett, referring to three juveniles who were arrested earlier this month after allegedly holding a 12-year-old captive, locking him in a closet and threatening him.

"These kids just don't get it," he said.

Following the slaying of Matthew Chew last fall and the subsequent arrest of six city teenagers, Hewett, like many city leaders, was looking for a way to grab the attention of kids with a propensity for criminal behavior.

He contacted the DOC after watching the latest version of "Scared Straight" on television.

But his version, tentatively called "A Dose of Reality," won't include aggressive prisoners trying to frighten youngsters away from crime. He envisions older prisoners serving life sentences sitting down and talking about the decisions that led them to prison.

"It only takes a minute for something to escalate,'' he said.

"The bad part is, one day, these kids are going to make a mistake that they will not recover from. ... I've told my kids, you can't afford to find out for yourself that a car will hit you if you walk across (Interstate) 95. For some mistakes, you are going to have to listen to someone else."

Brian Garnett, spokesman for the DOC, said research has shown that the "scared straight" model, which has been around since the 1970s, does not work. So the department was open to Hewett's idea, he said.

"Screaming in someone's face only makes them better criminals,'' Garnett said.

The DOC has many outreach programs throughout the prison system and is happy to be working with Hewett on a new program involving Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center, he said.

"These guys know of what they speak,'' Garnett said of 10 prisoners between the ages of 40 and 60 who have been chosen to participate. "They've spent a lot of time locked up."

The program is not expected to require any additional funds, Garnett said.

Hewett hopes the program, which will include a trip to the state Capitol before the prison visit, will show youngsters what their futures could look like, depending on the choices they make.

"You know, show them," he said, "they could take my place some day'' as a state representative.

As the program is envisioned, at-risk youth would be identified by parents or through the schools. The youth would ride in a prisoner transport van to the Uncasville prison, where they would get a tour and then sit and talk with men serving life sentences for murder, kidnapping and other serious crimes.

Hewett said he wants to follow up with the kids who participate and he promises to stay involved.

"I will do it as long as people will send me some kids,'' he said. "I will track these kids five, six years, however long it takes."

Some kids in the community, he said, are headed for prison.

"I don't know if this will work, but I'm willing to try,'' he said. " ... I think we can save these kids if we get to them early."

k.edgecomb@theday.com