DC crime bill would pay stipends to at-risk people who stay out of trouble
The Washington, D.C, City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to an anti-crime bill that would pay some residents not to commit crimes.
The bill would pay stipends to at-risk individuals who participate in counseling and job training, and stay out of trouble, report the New York Times, the Associated Press and the Washington Times. The Washington Post (sub. req.) had earlier coverage of the proposal.
Up to 200 people identified as being at risk of committing or becoming victims of violent crime would get the money, according to AP and the Washington Post. The New York Times, however, says about 50 people a year would get the payments.
The stipend proposal is modeled after a program in Richmond, California. Participants there earn up to $9,000 a year. But the money isn’t as popular as trips billed as “horizon-building educational excursions” to locations ranging from local colleges to cities such as London and Paris, according to the leader of the program.
The stipend proposal is just one provision in a Washington, D.C., crime bill that is is sweeping in scope. Other provisions would expand evaluations of patterns of violence and would put social workers and psychologists in police units and emergency rooms, according to the Washington Post article.
Washington, D.C.’s chief financial officer has warned that the city doesn’t have the funds to implement the bill. A final city council vote is scheduled for March 1.
