NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to Pay Criminals Convicted of Gun Crimes

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is adopting a program that will offer criminals convicted of “lethal” gun crimes $1,000 to be part of “transformation program.”

The New York Post notes the scheme adopted by de Blasio means “young men ­involved in lethal firearm ­offenses” will be offered a “stipend.” They will subsequently be coupled with “neighborhood change agents,” designed to direct the individuals away from a life of crime.

The Post indicates the mentors for “violent teens” are “ex cons.”

The program is called “Advance Peace,” and is designed to “[interrupt] gun violence in American urban neighborhoods by providing transformational opportunities to young men involved in lethal firearm offenses and placing them in a high-touch, personalized fellowship.”

The Truth About Guns observes, “Apparently, this program is somehow supposed to offset the effects of the shutdown of the NYPD’s anti-crime unit, which was dissolved last July after the nationwide George Floyd riots.”

On June 7, 2020, Breitbart News points out de Blasio was vowing to cut funding for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) even as violent crime soared. On July 1, 2020, NPR quoted de Blasio voicing support for NYC city council’s vote to take $1 billion from the NYPD: “We think it’s the right thing to do.”

De Blasio added, “We are reducing the size of our police force by not having the next recruit class. We are reducing our overtime levels. We’re shifting functions away from police to civilian agencies,”

The Post notes the Advance Peace program was tried in Stockton, California, and “murders rose from 28 in 2019 to 45 in 2020, up 60 percent.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.