It’s called the Dream Keeper Fellowship, and is borne from SFPD data showing that more than half of all San Francisco gun killings involve the same 12 criminal groups and gangs. The idea is to target those at high risk of being on either end of a shooting with a $300 monthly payment. Subjects could then receive up to $200 extra for other certain milestones like getting a job interview, complying with probation conditions, or participating in a mentoring program, in what’s sure to be a highly controversial intervention.
“What we are talking about is saying we are going to invest resources in this 25-year-old who has eight previous arrests, who is on parole, who is a proud member of a neighborhood clique and who is not even seeking services,” National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform executive director David Muhammad told the Examiner. “It’s just not a popular decision to make and may not be politically palatable, but that’s what you have to do in order to reduce gun violence.”
— John Kukura in SF Will Begin Paying People to Not Shoot Other People