The D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve a bill that includes a proposal to pay crime-prone residents a stipend of up to $9,000 if they don't commit any crimes for a year
BarkGrowlBite | February 5, 2016
In 2007, to keep them from committing crimes, Richmond, California instituted a program in which they paid a stipend of up to $9,000 a year to men who were considered at risk of committing violent crimes. According to the Daily Mail, Richmond’s authorities report the program has been an overwhelming success, claiming that 79 per cent of those participating in the program have not been suspected of involvement in any gun crimes since joining the program. They also cite that the city had experienced a 77 per cent drop in homicides between 2007 and 2014.
In order to receive any stipends, program participants must participate in behavioral therapy and other programs. They are paid the stipends only if they do not commit any crimes while in the program.
On Tuesday, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve Richmond’s program for the nation’s capital.
D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie argued that spending $9,000 a year in stipends “pales in comparison” to the cost of someone being victimized, along with the costs of imprisoning the offender.
Richmond says that 79 per cent of those participating in the program have not been suspected of involvement in any gun crimes. But I wonder how many crimes they committed, with or without a gun, for which they have not been caught? And there is no way to determine whether the drop in homicides can be attributed to the stipend program.
To me this looks like just another kooky idea from Kookfornia. But there is one thing the D.C. Council Members have shown – they are just as kooky as their Richmond counterparts.
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