Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the government comes up with the most mind-boggling form of welfare yet.
The new program — take suspected murderers and thugs, and cut them a check every month if they promise to start behaving.
The city of Richmond, California has been struggling to stop violence for years. Richmond has battled one of the nation’s worst homicide rates, and a state senator once compared the city to Iraq.
City Hall hired Devone Boggan to come up with a new system of policing.
“During a meeting with law enforcement, [Boggan] was stunned to learn that city officials believed 70 percent of the 45 homicides and 200-plus firearm assaults in 2009 were committed by just 17 people,” Al Jazerra reported.
Rather than arrest these suspected criminals, Boggan and city officials decided on a new approach that has critics screaming mad — they launched the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS), which uses taxpayer dollars (mixed with some private donations) to pay off criminals for not murdering.
The ransom is paid if these suspected criminals agree to join a fellowship and attend a counseling session. “If the fellows show good behavior after six months, they can earn a stipend of up to $1,000 a month,” according to CNN, which reports that “the fellowship is often dubbed ‘cash for criminals.'”
Boggan focused the program on teens and young men known to be active in gun violence, but who had escaped serious time — typically because of a lack of evidence.
Not all the kind of “love and kindness” present at the counseling sessions goes according to plan, of course.
“In October 2011, two rival groups showed up at the ONS office in City Hall at the same time. A brawl broke out behind closed doors, and police said ONS employees refused to cooperate. No charges were filed. The incident gave fuel to ONS opponents who contend the agency has not been transparent enough about its work, or clear about its metrics for success,” Al Jazerra reported in a review of the program.
Despite this, the program is beginning to spread nationwide. In February of this year, the city council in Washington D.C. voted unanimously to approve a bill that included a proposal to pay residents a stipend not to commit crimes.
— The Horn editorial team
Once safe working class neighborhoods turned into high crime low productivity zones. Now pay folks for not harming others. When this comes to upper class suburbs will it stop?
In the bad old days they used to call this a “Protection Racket.”
A shake down !! Damm I wish I lived in California…they have such wondergul, progressive ideas !!!
Hey, This Idea Should To Chicago,Lake County,IL
In a liberal state headed up by Governor Moonbeam what can be expected?
SO – how do you qualify- do you have to actually kill/assault someone – or just say you have? They say “escaped serious crime because of lack of evidence. Isn’t an admission evidence? Or are they given immunity? Guess what I am asking is where do the rest of us, some trying to survive on social security which is a joke with no COLA, or an insignificiant amount, sign up. I,and many of my friends could sure use an extra $1,000 a month – and I’ll bet it is tax free too. Thought paying kids to go to school was the most foolish thing I have ever heard, but this takes the cake
Killing this scum would be cheaper and more effective. Now, we’ll have a new entitlement for criminals only. Think of the incentive to qualify by killing, robbing, mugging or other such nefarious behavior.
Exactly!
Oh, but they go to counseling and our gov wants the decrease to show during his rein..please sign me up for an additional tax free $1000 too. What a great idea to spread to other cities, perhaps it is cheaper to do this than
try to keep them locked up. Leave it to CA to dream up a “plan” for more tax spending. Yes, I have lived in CA for over 40 years.
More LIBERAL Stupidity….That will crash and burn. as always…….Anything LIBERALS touch turns to S**T
Stupid is as stupid does.What do you expect when you have the likes of politcians such as Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi to name a few.
THAT’S THE MOST STUPID IDEA I HAVE EVER HEARD, but then I am only 78 years old. I’m sure there will be something more stupid come up in about ten or twenty million years.
And yes, Governor Moonbeam is correct. What a complete idiot Brown is!
Now that the death penalty has been taken off the table, we are ripe for a Muslim takeover. Get ready for the greatest show on earth, folks.
It’s not going to be pretty. Hope I don’t live long enough to see it, and it will be coming soon!
A prayer for Mr. Trump is a prayer for America.
Check out this warning to America: https://youtu.be/PFO1AtjoUoo
This is why people are fleeing California like rats from a sinking ship!!!
Rewarding criminals for their behavior is the way liberals think they are in control. What a joke these people are!!! We haven’t been in CA for years and have no desire to go there….guess they want it that way.
America needs to let California go to Mexico, They all want everything free, Its a worthless State, Beautiful but not worth keeping. Or get the people out and then reform it
This can’t be real. No one can be so stupid to take money from hard working people and give it to criminals! Oh wait, this is the new mexico. Almost forgot.
This can’t be real. No one can be so stupid to take money from hard working people and give it to criminals! Oh wait, this is the new mexico. Almost forgot.
This can’t be real. No one can be so stupid to take money from hard working people and give it to criminals! Oh wait, this is the new mexico. Almost forgot.
What the hell is going on with Brown. This is so bad. What is he going to do next? Can’t wait until he leaves office. Maybe time to get someone from the southern part of the state to run things.
I’ve seen articles like this before. Twisted the same way. Funding a rehabilitative program vs. paying to keep them locked away is not “cut them a check” –making it sound like that farmer that’s getting paid for “not raising” pigs. Remember, you the taxpayer “cut them a check” to stay in these hotels with bars on the windows all the time and rarely complain about it.
I got a better idea.Lets take the hand cuffs off of the police and let them do their job.If they have to shoot the worthless lot,so be it.Solving problems at the same mind level that created it for some reason doesn’t seem to work.
How does the government verify the behavior before paying?
“Have you killed or maimed anyone this month???… No???? OK, Heres your check…”… Gotta wonder… If you are a “refugee”, do they make these payments retroactive???
Liberalism is a MENTAL DISEASE with NO CURE
You can’t FIX STUPID!!
But .. Boy can Americans vote for the stupid. And go along with the stupid. Wtf?? omg
Why doesn’t the city of Richmond, CA just put a set dollar-amount bounty on violent criminals. You know, the old fashioned “Wanted Dead or Alive” but this time forget about alive. Every convicted violent criminal corpse delivered to the Court House would be eligible for the bounty. After one crazy month the city would be squeaky clean. It’s worth a try.
wow what a concept, pay criminals not to commit crimes, and pay city elected officials to commit crimes. Are the voters in Richmond Ca.brain dead? When violent criminals can blackmail your city government then the criminals are a hell of a lot smarter than the officials. I wonder if the P.D. feels the same way about that. It was only a few months ago one of their own was shot and killed by a murderous lowlife criminal I guess that was one that Richmond didn’t pay, come on you hammerheads are slipping, I can honestly say I am glad those incredibly dumb officals have to be incredibly dumb otherwise they would not show their faces in public. Where is Wyatt Earp when you need him
The whole idea is criminal and retarded! It would be cheaper and better to pay one of the murderers to go murder all the other murders, as time passes we would get rid of the no good people as they will be dead and only a few of the murderers will be left with a job they like, killing people. So keep them busy killing each other instead of the hard working value producing people of the USA. Give them a JOB killing each other!