San Francisco pays gang members $ 300 a month to give up violence and take 'life coach' classes instead

The city of San Francisco will launch a bold initiative to curb gun violence: pay “high-risk” individuals to put their guns down and become more productive members of society.

San Francisco launches ‘Dream Keeper Fellowship’ as a pilot program in October, the San Francisco Examiner reported on Tuesday. Behind the whimsical name, the idea is simple: people “Who the authorities think is most at risk of shooting someone” will be offered $ 300 a month to meet with “Life coaches” instead of talking otherwise “high risk” individuals out of committing gun crimes.

This monthly scholarship increases to $ 500 as these individuals perform tasks such as meeting mentors and applying for jobs.

In July, shootings in San Francisco have doubled since last year, gun killings have increased by a third, and the number of non-fatal shootings has increased by more than 100%, according to the examiner’s figures.

Mayor London Breed responded to this drastic increase not by hiring more police officers or approving a law enforcement crime, but by promising to write off the $ 120 million police budget and divert the money to welfare, black businesses and other social justice focused programs, all under the umbrella of ‘Dream Keeper Initiative. '

While budget cuts fell along the edge in favor of a shift in city finances, the soon-to-be-launched program is a product of the same desire to tackle crime from a more awakened angle. Police believe conflict between just 12 black and Latino gangs is responsible for most of San Francisco’s killings. As such, the new program will target the most dangerous of these gang members.

“We are going to invest resources in this 25-year-old who has eight previous arrests, who is on probation, who is a proud member of a neighborhood gang and not even seeking service," David Muhammad of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform told the examiner. “It’s just not a popular decision to make and may not be politically tasty, but that’s what you need to do to reduce gun violence."

Commentators online ridiculed the program and responded to it by bribing criminals for not committing crime. “Violent criminals need jail," David Freddoso wrote in the Washington Examiner Tuesday. “They do not need cash. People who shoot other people have to wall themselves into prisons and be kept away from the rest of us. ”

San Francisco will pay 10 people who “have a high risk of shooting someone” $ 300 per person. Month for not getting involved in shootings. So leftists created a program of hijackers and hostages. What happens when the program stops? Anyone want to die every day? https://t.co/KM1v1XAQPf

- Marina Medvin @ (@MarinaMedvin) September 1, 2021

brb, builds my track record of interpersonal violence so I qualify for the ‘earn $ 300 a month by not shooting people’ scheme https://t.co/URfTcKnd4B

- Mary Harrington (@moveincircles) September 1, 2021

Similar initiatives, described as successes by San Francisco officials, have yielded mixed results. A program in Richmond, California, resulted in fewer firearms deaths, but several non-firearms died instead. Another program in Stockton, California, boasted that 71% of participants done the course with “No new weapons are arrested." However, almost a third were arrested during the process, and the city saw a 60% increase in homicides, almost double the national average increase.

Despite the criticism, the program has its true believers. “The notion of paying criminals not to shoot may be a sexy headline, but it’s an incredibly inaccurate description of the intervention," Muhammad told ABC7. He stressed that participants will get their cash payments on preloaded cards and will not be able to spend them on illegal goods and will be required to actively engage in social services rather than simply refrain from murdering people.

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