US city reduces violence to provide money to criminals

Since the program began, the homicide rate fell 75% in Richmond, says founder strategy


Boggan (right) with a mentor and a program participant

A violence reduction program that includes the payment of up to $ 1000 per month to young offenders to encourage them to change their lives is transforming a community in California and serving as a model for similar initiatives in other US cities.

Called Operation Peacemaker (something like Operation Peacemaker), the strategy adopted by the City of Richmond since 2010 identifies those suspected of crimes with firearms that are more likely to commit new offenses or are victims of violence by rival gangs.

They are then invited to participate in the program, provided they commit to a series of "life goals" that establish aspects that want to improve and goals for the future, how to find a job or return to school. Another condition is that you meet several times a week with mentors.

The program lasts 18 months for each class and age limit of 30 years. After the initial six months, participants may begin receiving a monthly amount, ranging from $ 300 to $ 1000 for up to nine of the remaining 12 months, according to the level of participation and commitment shown in pursuing established objectives.

homicide rate
Even those who have committed any offense are not expelled or fail to receive money, provided that they prove that they are committed to their goals.

"Payment is not based on whether they are shooting or left aside their weapons, but the achievements in relation to established goals. They are rewarded not by the criminal aspect of their lives, but the hard work of trying to improve their lives" he told BBC Brazil the mastermind of the strategy, devone Boggan.

Initial analysis suggests that the initiative has worked. In 2007, when the Office of Neighborhood Safety came (something like "Security Office of Neighborhoods', or ONS, its acronym in English), office connected to the city that was created in order to combat violence and that the program does part, Richmond recorded 47 homicides.


Boggan (front, center) and program participants visiting the congresswoman Barbara Lee, the House of Representatives in Washington, in 2014

"Since then, the homicide rate fell 75%," says Boggan, who is director of ONS.

Due to the success, other cities such as Oakland (California), Toledo (Ohio) and own capital, Washington, preparing to replicate the program.

mentors
With 107,000 inhabitants, Richmond was once considered the sixth most violent city in the country, according to rankings released in 2010 with the FBI data (Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US federal police).

"There was a lot of gang violence. In 2009, there were 45 murders and over 180 people injured by firearms," ​​recalls Boggan.

"In meetings with the police, I heard that 70% of these crimes were caused by only about 20 young people. And they were not in jail. So we decided to find them and engage them," he says.

To perform this task, the ONS has a team of mentors themselves with a criminal past and stints in prison, which circulate in the communities with high rates of violence and gain the trust of these young people.

The program has the support of the police, but operates independently. They are mentors who choose the participants, and they do not share information with the police.

"Not everyone agrees, but the police commanders understand the importance of our credibility with young criminals, not to be seen as informants," said Boggan.

costs
In addition to mentors, the program has a team that includes psychologists, experts in conflict resolution, substance abuse and professional advice, among others.

According Boggan, the initiative will cost between $ 800,000 and $ 1 million every 18 months. Operating costs, including salaries, are covered by the municipality. The money for monthly payments to the participants comes from private donors.


Boggan (right) and program participants

Many question the payment to criminals and the fact that there is no control over how they spend that money (in drugs, for example).

Boggan says he understands the criticism, but argues that the program has reduced violence, more traditional approaches have failed, and that the cost of keeping a criminal in jail or killings and injuries by firearms are much higher.

He pointed out that the financial incentive is only a small part of the program, and not the most important.

"Less than 60% of the participants gain financial reward, and among these, the monthly average of $ 300 to $ 750," he explains.

The amount received by the participants, maximum at $ 9,000 in 18 months, is below the poverty line in the United States, where they are considered poor individuals with incomes up to $ 12,000 per year.

Travels
The expert violence Angie Wolf Gang, director of the National Council on Crime and Deliquency (National Council on Crime and Delinquency), a nonprofit organization that has made an initial evaluation of program implementation, also stresses that payments are not the part important strategy.

"It is a complex intervention, deep, long-term. It is not as quick and easy as simply give $ 1000 to leave their side arms, is much more detailed than that," Wolf said the BBC Brazil.

For Boggan, which makes participants continue striving is not money, but the positive relationship with mentors, who can be identified, and the fact that, in most cases for the first time, are being heard , asked about their needs and have their opinions taken into account.

The money received from donations is also used in travel. Participants have the opportunity to visit other cities, states and even countries, but with one condition: they must accept travel with someone who has already tried to kill or who has tried to kill them.

"So have the opportunity to see the other in vulnerable situations, realize they have much in common," says Boggan.

Financing
Other US cities like Boston, Chicago and Pittsburgh, have tried similar approaches at different times against gang violence, identifying and engaging potential criminals.

Most of these initiatives, however, eventually interrupted by problems such as lack of funding.

For Wolf, the combination of public and private funding is one of the bright spots in Richmond and a challenge for cities looking to replicate the model.

"If the city finances the project to some extent, is saying that cares about this issue and is investing to improve, and this is important," says Wolf.

"Having private money covering payments to the participants and travel is important for political reasons. Especially in the current climate in the United States, cities may have difficulty policy to pay for it, "says Wolf.

In Washington, the proposal has provoked a fight between the mayor, Muriel Bowser, not part of the budget allocated to the program, and the city council.

Bowser is against the idea and claims that there is insufficient data to verify the success of the initiative in Richmond.

But board members consider this the best alternative to combat the growing violence in the US capital and approved the proposal unanimously.

Reviews
The lack of a deeper analysis to prove the results is one of the criticisms of Richmond initiative.

Opponents of the program, including the city council, said the drop in homicide rates from 2007 coincided with other factors such as the exchange of police chief and demographic changes. They note that in the past year, crimes rebounded.

Boggan refutes this criticism by pointing to the fact that 94% of participants since the implementation of the program, which is now in its fourth class, still alive, and 84% were not injured by firearms

"Some get jobs, some went to college, but the important thing is that most will not use weapons as a way to resolve a conflict. This is how we measure our success," says Boggan.