The District of Columbia has moved forward on a plan to reward $4.9 million over four years to released criminals who do not become repeat offenders.
The D.C. City Council unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that includes a proposal to pay residents an annual stipend if they are not rearrested following release from jail or prison.
City officials would pick 200 people per year who are at the greatest risk for committing or becoming victims of violent crime and assign them to behavioral therapy and other programs. Once they meet the requirement and avoid trouble, they become eligible for a payout from the city.
The program is based off one in Richmond, Calif., where its developers say it has led to steep reductions in regional crime. Richmond’s program pays participants up to $9,000 per year, but District officials did not say how much selected Washington residents could be looking at receiving.
Bill author Democratic D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said the plan is meant to curb violent crime in the city and hopefully help reverse last year’s 54 percent increase in homicides.
Some skeptics have called it a waste of taxpayer funds. Civic activist Dorothy Brizill testified against the program at a hearing last Fall, stating, “These incentive programs don’t work.”
Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has not said whether she will fund the $460,000 annual stipend payments. If the mayor does not commit to supporting it, the Council will have to create new taxes or make cuts to programs to cover the gap.
