DC bill would pay people stipends not to commit crimes

[Recursion]

http://bigstory.ap.org/6cfa926b5596419ab2bfa47a2f36b43f

Interesting.

They say crime doesn't pay, but that might not be entirely true in the District of Columbia as lawmakers look for ways to discourage people from becoming repeat offenders.

The D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a bill that includes a proposal to pay residents a stipend not to commit crimes. It's based on a program in Richmond, California, that advocates say has contributed to deep reductions in crime there.

Under the bill, city officials would identify up to 200 people a year who are considered at risk of either committing or becoming victims of violent crime. Those people would be directed to participate in behavioral therapy and other programs. If they fulfill those obligations and stay out of trouble, they would be paid.

The bill doesn't specify the value of the stipends, but participants in the California program receive up to $9,000 per year.

[Warpy]

1. Issuing their drug of choice at their present dosage in reliable and pure form works better

When the UK did that with hard core addicts, street crime dropped 80% and by the time the program ended ten years later, 50% of those addicts had tapered off the drugs and were clean. That's both the best anticrime effort ever plus the best statistic for any rehab program out there: give them their drugs and let them get themselves off them.

[Recursion]

2. Congress has overturned DC's budget over *needle exchange* before

Unfortunately the district's budget autonomy exists in name only.

[Downwinder]

3. They already do that for seniors.

You get approximately $30.00 per day from SS as long as you stay out of jail. If you go to jail it stops.