Cops are accused of child abuse after footage emerges of officers violently shoving and screaming at teens as part of a prison-inspired disciplinary program Video shows children and teenagers being disciplined by officers from the Chester County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina They are part of a prison-inspired disciplinary program for troubled youth Program involves children spending a weekend in prison to teach them a lesson Some psychologists have slammed the recent footage saying the treatment the youth are subjected to is child abuse Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood, who has been running the program for years, has denied that the treatment of the children is abuse By Emily Crane For Dailymail.com Published: 16:17 GMT, 1 March 2019 | Updated: 16:17 GMT, 1 March 2019 Viewcomments Footage has emerged of South Carolina sheriff's deputies violently shoving children and screaming in their faces as part of a prison-inspired disciplinary program for troubled youth. The video, which was shot by the Charlotte Observer, shows children and teenagers being disciplined by officers from the Chester County Sheriff's Office. The program, called Project STORM, is aimed at high-risk youth and involves parents sending their children to prison for a weekend to teach them a lesson. While the program has been running for several years, some psychologists have slammed the recent footage saying the treatment the youth are subjected to is child abuse. The video shows children and teenagers being disciplined by officers from the Chester County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina as part of a prison-inspired disciplinary program for troubled youth The children who participate in the program are handcuffed and treated like real criminals in an attempt to help curb unruly behavior. The recent video, parts of which were filmed in June last year and January, shows officers handcuffing children as young as eight. They are also filmed shoving and grabbing the children, screaming in their faces and forcing them to do prison yard exercises for long periods of time. Some boys were filmed sobbing and a 12-year-old even collapsed while carrying a traffic cone over his head during an exercise. A deputy could be heard screaming: 'The same pain you are feeling is the same pain you are putting your parents through.' 'It is physical abuse. This tactic would be called torture if the prisoner were a member of the Taliban,' child psychologist Kenneth Dodge said. Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood denied that the treatment of the children is abuse. The program, which is called Project STORM is aimed at high-risk youth, involves children spending a weekend in prison. Some psychologists have slammed the recent footage saying the treatment the youth are subjected to is child abuse A 12-year-old in the program collapsed during an exercise in the prison yard and was dragged to his feet by a sheriff's deputy The recent video, parts of which were filmed in June last year and January, shows officers shoving the children and forcing them to do prison yard exercises for long periods of time Underwood, who created the program, said his deputies were tough but it was to try and scare the youth into not committing crimes and ending up in prison. 'So these guys, they're going to yell at them. They're going to be real strong with them,' Underwood said of his officers. As part of the program, the parents also have to attend a 90-minute class run by the sheriff's office that teaches them how to better deal with their children. Underwood said it is because what the parents have been doing obviously hasn't worked. Parents of children in the latest batch of the program told Fox46 that they hoped it would be an eye opener. 'This was my last resort to get some results. He’s been acting out in school,' one mother said of her 12-year-old son. Another mother said her 14-year-old son thought he was untouchable and she enrolled him in the program for 'lying, stealing, bad grades'. The program at Chester County is similar to other run across the country and has been featured on A&E's Beyond Scared Straight TV show. It is not a U.S. Department of Justice run program. Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood denied that the treatment of the children is abuse. He said his deputies were tough but it was to try and scare the youth into not committing crimes and ending up in prison The children who participate in the program - some as young as eight - are handcuffed and treated like real criminals in an attempt to help curb unruly behavior Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility