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Rumors abounded in August 2016 that California was paying criminals to not commit crimes and then sending them on paid vacations, sparking the usual outrage. The city of Richmond, California piloted a program starting in 2010, known as Operation Peacemaker, with the stated goal of bringing down gun violence. Young people considered at risk to commit crimes are tapped to participate in a fellowship program, where after six months they can earn a stipend if they succeed. City officials credit the program with bringing homicides down to 11 in 2014 —the lowest it has been in decades. The program's founder and then-director, Devon Boggan, wrote about the concept in a 4 July 2015 editorial for the New York Times. He knew it would be controversial from the beginning: In a March 2016 article for the Washington Post, Boggan told the publication that money was set aside for each fellow to travel — but the catch was, they had to travel with someone who they had tried to kill or who had attempted to kill them. The point, Boggan told the Post, was for the youngsters to realize, Hey, this cat’s just like me. The Bay Area city, with a population of just over 100,000, boasts a 61 percent reduction in homicides since 2007. That year, the city hit a high with 47 homicides, or roughly eight times the national average. In May 2016, Washington, D.C. abandoned a similar program due to lack of funding.
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