(TJVNEWS) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is adopting a program that will offer criminals convicted of “lethal” gun crimes $1,000 to be part of “transformation program.”
The New York Post notes the social program adopted by de Blasio means “young men involved in lethal firearm offenses” will be offered a “stipend.” They will subsequently be coupled with “neighborhood change agents,” designed to direct the individuals away from a life of crime.
The Post indicates the mentors for “violent teens” are “ex cons.”
New York City will spend $1 million to pilot its version of a violence prevention program that provides participants with intensive mentorship and financial incentives for staying out of trouble, according to city officials familiar with the plans.
The program, known as Advance Peace, will launch in one precinct in each borough and pair fellows — young people deemed at risk for involvement in gun crime — with formerly incarcerated mentors. In cities that follow the model, fellows get paid a stipend of roughly $1,000 a month for staying in the program, as well as bonuses for meeting agreed-upon life goals like obtaining a driver’s license or GED.
“Advance Peace,” is designed to “[interrupt] gun violence in American urban neighborhoods by providing transformational opportunities to young men involved in lethal firearm offenses and placing them in a high-touch, personalized fellowship.”
The Truth About Guns observes, “Apparently, this program is somehow supposed to offset the effects of the shutdown of the NYPD’s anti-crime unit, which was dissolved last July after the nationwide George Floyd riots.”
On June 7, 2020, Breitbart News points out de Blasio was vowing to cut funding for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) even as violent crime soared. On July 1, 2020, NPR quoted de Blasio voicing support for NYC city council’s vote to take $1 billion from the NYPD: “We think it’s the right thing to do.”
De Blasio added, “We are reducing the size of our police force by not having the next recruit class. We are reducing our overtime levels. We’re shifting functions away from police to civilian agencies,”
The Post notes the Advance Peace program was tried in Stockton, California, and “murders rose from 28 in 2019 to 45 in 2020, up 60 percent.”