MACON, Ga. — Most parents would probably agree raising children is not easy because there are a lot of outside forces that can pull a child down the wrong path.
Look at Bibb County’s juvenile crime numbers:
In 2018, seven teenagers were shot and killed.
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One dozen teens, including two 15-year-olds, are charged in those murders.
Four years ago, Bibb Sheriff David Davis started a program to combat this disturbing trend named ‘Consider the Consequences.’
But what goes on behind the scenes to allow the program to take place? 13WMAZ Anchor Lori Johnson went inside.
“YOU’RE IN MY HOUSE, YOU’RE NOT AT YOUR HOUSE! LET’S GO,” screams an inmate to a teen.
It’s intense.
It’s eight hours on one Friday every month that Capt. Ellis Sinclair hopes will change the lives of participants forever.
“What we're doing is trying to prevent them from winding up in two places -- either in somebody's jail or in somebody's cemetery,” said Sinclair.
The teens’ parents know the stakes are high, which is why they were enrolled in the program in the first place.
At a final send-off before the teens go in, parents express their dissatisfaction with the actions of their children.
Some of the reasons? No respect for authority. Stealing. Bullying. Running their mouth.
It’s the final moment of communication parents have with their children.
“I’m done, something has to change, so I hope you learn something today,” said one parent.
The participating children, ages 10-16, see what it’s like to spend a day in jail – a glimpse at what their future could be if their behavior doesn’t improve.
It’s not fun, just ask Rysheid Swain. He went through the program three years ago.
He says he was stealing food, toys and clothes for his brothers and sisters, but the program helped him realize he had to change.
“It's very small, it cramped, it's cold. It's hard,” he said. “[The] only thing you're going to be looking at is the metal piece that comes out of the wall and the toilet. That's the only thing you'll be looking at.”
Now he spends his time reading books and getting an education.
The Central High senior lives at the Methodist Children's Home in Macon and is looking forward to graduating in May before attending South Georgia Tech.
He credits the home, the Consider the Consequences program and Judge Verda Colvin for putting him on the right path.
Video of Colvin from a previous program went viral for its tough talk loaded with love.
“I try to them my heart while they’re there with me so they know that I’m genuine, I feel some of their pain,” said Colvin.
“She wrote me a letter telling me she was going to be in my life and help me with my life and that really changed me,” said Swain.
And that’s what the program is all about. The exercises, the cell and the food are all designed to show impressionable teens that there are real-world consequences for their actions.
“If we can get them to change at that age right there maybe by the time they reach the point of 14 to 16, they will know the consequences if they continue to travel down the road they're traveling,” said Capt. Sinclair.
“I just want out kids to have a real future and to know that not only are their parents depending on them and our future is depending on them, but their lot in life is depending on them,” said Colvin.
The Consider the Consequences program is open to 10-16-year-olds.
Parents from around Georgia and other states like Alabama have used the program.
Organizers say it's hard to track the success rate, but they do reach out to families each month encouraging them to continue to take classes.
Judge Colvin says she measures the success by seeing those kids who were in her courtroom, like Ryshied, thriving out in the community.
If you would like more information on how to enroll your child in the free program, you can call Capt. Ellis Sinclair at 478-621-6452.