Begun in 1979, the Shape Up program uses conversations with long-term inmates, rather than scare tactics, to influence juveniles. Casual and systematic observations and formal and informal interviews with 15 inmates who took part in the program found beneficial effects on the inmates' self-concepts, sense of belonging to the community, and problemsolving skills. The program also appears to be related to lower recidivism rates among inmate participants. However, the program puts the inmate in the contradictory roles of being both a misfit and a solution to a problem that the police, courts, and corrections cannot solve. The program also rests on an ideology of repressive deterrence of individual behavior and overlooks the societal conditions and forces that underlie crime. Notes, 21 references, and 3 figures.