From you cannot make this stuff up file

[sunshine]

DC also kept voting the late  Mayor Marion Barry back into office...a known crack head.

[scott_free]

pretty bad, but not as bad as the right wingers who voted bush back into office in 2004 after we knew for sure he lied about wmds in Iraq, about al Qaeda being in Iraq, about any Iraqi ties to 9/11, and after so many soldiers had died for those lies, already. 

[sweetwater5s9]

 Longtime civic activist Dorothy Brizill was the only person to testify against the stipend program at a lengthy hearing last fall, saying it would waste taxpayer dollars.


"These incentive programs don't work," Brizill said Tuesday.


WASHINGTON (AP) -- They say crime doesn't pay, but that might not be entirely true in the District of Columbia as lawmakers look for ways to discourage people from becoming repeat offenders.

The D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a bill that includes a proposal to pay residents a stipend not to commit crimes.

Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has not committed to funding the program, which would cost $4.9 million over four years...

[scott_free]

since it has never been used, why do you believe they do not work? are you saying you think prison time works better than this might at changing behavior? 

you know, the way to train dogs and to train people is not all that different....punishment vs reward.  there is no dog trainer in the world that believes you can punish a dog into being a good dog or into being "trainable."  every one of them, EVERY ONE OF THEM, say you reward good behavior, consistently, to get the best behaved and the most trainable dogs.  not saying it is exactly the same for people, or for all people, but generally, yeah.  reward motivates better than punishment.  punishment just makes you better at avoiding being caught, as I can easily testify. 

[1965hawks]

To: jst-the-fax et al

Despite your ridicule and mockery, the District of Columbia's bill is based on a program in Richmond, California,  that advocates say has contributed to deep reductions in crime.

http://www4.toledoblade.com/Nation/2016/02/02/Washington-DC-bill-would-pay-people-stipends-not-to-commit-crimes.html

[sweetwater5s9]

Richmond, California, violent crime, on a scale from 1 (low crime) to 100, is 85. Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The US average is 41.4.


Richmond, California, property crime, on a scale from 1 (low) to 100, is 59. Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims. The US average is 43.5.


http://www.bestplaces.net/crime/city/california/richmond

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/richmond/crime/

http://www.usa.com/richmond-ca-crime-and-crime-rate.htm

[Dan]

Sure it would work.  But so would summary execution.  The question is is it fair?

[scott_free]

fair, compared to what?  putting them in prison? is revenge the only reason we convict criminals and put them in prison or, in most cases, hope by punishing them it will scare them enough to go straight if they are released?  violent criminals I believe, deserve punishment first and foremost, and then after a long enough time, then maybe a chance to be rehabilitated.  but violent criminals are not the majority of criminals in prison, and this other system could not only work better at rehabilitating the criminal, it would definitely be a lot cheaper. 

[emilyB]

This is a much better idea:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-patricia-fitzgerald/who-rescued-who-shelter-dogs-and-prison-inmates-give-each-other-a-new-leash-on-life_b_5760042.html

http://www.dogsontheinside.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/science/dogs-trained-in-prison-to-protect-lives.html?_r=0

[jst-the-fax]

hawkie,
So I assume you'll be applying?

[1965hawks]

To: sweetwater5s9

in re: Reply #29

The District of Columbia's idea to pay a stipend to criminals, in order to lessen the probability of their becoming repeat offenders, is based on a program enacted in Richmond, California, that its advocates say greatly reduced crime in that city. Your simply posting crime statistics for the City of Richmond in no way refutes the claims of that program's reducing crime in that city.