When a Cub Scout, ‘50-’53, our Den Mother arranged afternoon tours for us. Once was the US Post Office and we built a model afterwards. Another was the County Jail and Sheriff’s Deputies led us on a tour where we could view the inmates behind bars. ....The inmates knew better than to say anything taunting or nasty to us, because in those days the Deputies would have made them pay...physically.
That jail tour did have an impact on us kids, though, and none of us was ever in a County lockup later in life.
Your Den Mother knew how to be a mother. The kids had common sense back in the '50's and just seeing the inmates behind bars drove home the point.
Today's "kids" think they are quite worldly, and with access to the internet they may be, at least on the surface. Today, they need more of a shock to make the same point.
(Always thought the years 1946 through 1964 was one of the sweet spots in our culture, with the obvious exception of the Korean conflict and JFK's assassination.)