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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (920136)	2/9/2016 5:35:55 PM
From: combjelly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574547

Somehow the idea that not all potential threats have any basis in reality doesn't seem to be a factor to wingnuts. Now the use of imaginary threats has a long and sordid history, though. Fascists love them.

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (920136)	2/9/2016 6:52:46 PM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 1574547

Washington, D.C. is trying to pay criminals not to murder people By Jordan Richardson / February 8, 2016 / Would you like to receive up to $9,000 per year for not committing any crimes? If you live in Washington, D.C., you could be in luck. The D.C. Council unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie that would grant stipends to 200 people if they do not commit any further crimes. Councilmember McDuffie stated: I want to prevent violent crime—particularly gun violence—by addressing the root causes and creating opportunities for people, particularly those individuals who are at the highest risks of offending. If the bill is enacted, Washington, D.C. would establish an office of neighborhood safety to address serious violent crime, and to identify people who are considered at risk of either committing or becoming victims of violent crime. Those individuals would be given a monthly stipend if they participate in life skills training and avoid criminal activity. [ Or don't get caught. ] According to the District’s independent chief financial officer, the program would cost $4.9 million over four years, including $460,000 a year in stipend payments for 200 people. The idea is actually not new. The city of Richmond, California has experimented with the concept for almost ten years and had promising, albeit limited, results. In 2007, Richmond experienced high rates of crime, with 47 homicides in a community of just 106,000 people. The city was deemed the nation’s 12th most dangerous, and its residents were looking for solutions. The answer soon arrived with an idea by DeVone Boggan, a community activist and creator of the public-private Office of Neighborhood Safety. Boggan’s plan was simple: Pay criminals not to commit crime. As simplistic as it sounds, the program used extensive research and multi-layered strategies to combat urban violence. Boggan and his team identified 50 men in Richmond who were most likely to kill or get killed. Through outreach in the trouble spots of the city, Boggan enrolled these men into an 18-month program that included anger management, job training, and other life skills. If participants avoided crime and stuck to the training program, they were paid $300-$1,000 per month. With this program, the city used a carrot, rather than a stick, to encourage lawful behavior. The results were significant. The Washington Post reports: Sixty-eight men have participated in the program since June of 2010, and 64 are still alive. Fifty-seven haven’t been shot since, and 54 have gone without an additional gun-related charge. Several have either gone back to school or gotten jobs. Those numbers reflected citywide trends. Between 2007’s count of 47 homicides and 2014, when only 11 homicides roiled Richmond, the murder rate has dropped 77 percent. So far this year, Boggan said, only three gang-related homicides have occurred. But does paying people not to commit crime truly work? There is mixed data on whether stipends and life-training alone can turn around criminal behavior. Civic activist Dorothy Brizill testified against the stipend program during a hearing at the D.C. Council last year, arguing it wastes taxpayer money. “These incentive programs don’t work,” she stated. It is also worth noting that this system does seem to reward people for their crimes, in a way. The government would essentially pay off people who have established themselves as criminals. If programs like these have marginal, if disputed, benefits, then could this initiative be an asset to fighting crime in D.C.? One way to know is look at how the D.C. government already spends its money. In 2015, the D.C. Department of Corrections alone had a budget request of over $151 million. According to a ranking by WalletHub, D.C. also has the worst return on investment in the country for their spending on police protection. The current spending per capita is $978, and the crime rate is 5.57 percent. http://watchdog.org/256205/washington-dc-pay-criminals-not-to-murder/