NINE boys were highlighted yesterday for completing government's controversial Shock Treatment programme, which the Davis administration relaunched in 2021 to target youth with disciplinary issues.

Some boys said the programme was challenging, but effective and helped change their outlook on life.

Among those attending yesterday was Constable Raven Culmer, a former participant in the programme who recalled her positive evolution from a troubled “Bain Town girl”.

She urged the boys to let their mistakes push them to improve rather than hinder them.

Other representatives from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, and the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services were present at the Hope Centre to share encouraging messages after the boys completed the one-week programme.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe compared life to a basketball game and urged the boys to make the right choices.

“You got to watch what happens in the prison," he said. "You got to watch what happens at the police station. You got to go down on the Defence Force base and to watch and see how the men and women who protect the country conduct themselves and carry themselves.”

“The game about to start for y’all. How successful you are in the game will depend on how well you remember the tape, how well you remember your preparation because the game of life is long, and you know if you get blown out in the first quarter, it’s hard to come back, aye.”

Critics say programmes like Shock Treatment are cruel and ineffective at deterring crime. Some say televising the programme is humiliating.

Dr Carlos Reid, a Ministry of National Security crime consultant, said many do not understand the purpose of the television programme.

“Thousands of persons won’t ever get to the doors of Shock Treatment," he told reporters. "Our job is to use what we put on television as a tool to be able to help parents to help their kids.”

“So, the good side of Shock Treatment, you don’t get to see much of that on television. You get to see the breaking part because parents have told us that they had some kids who were disobedient. They told them to watch Shock Treatment and after that, their lives turn around.”