[VIDEO] Gang Members In Richmond Are Paid $1,300 To Stop Shooting And That Is Just The Start

The taxpayers of Richmond, California, are on the hook for not only the $1,300 per person payout, but these lavish gifts as well…

Video below:

DailyMail has more…

One of most dangerous areas in America has resorted to paying teenagers up to $1,300 a month as officials desperately try and stop gun crime.

Gang members in Richmond, California, can also go on all expenses paid trips to New York and Washington if they are willing to travel with a rival.

The programme, which is predominantly funded by taxpayers, was introduced in the city earlier this year.

In 2007 Richmond had a population of just over 100,000 when 47 people were murdered.

Dawaun Rice, who has lost seven friends due to gun violence in the area, is one of 24 men on the scheme.

The 19 year old, who received the maximum $1,300 this month, is thought to be scheduled to remain on the programme for around 18 months. It is thought the maximum he can receive in a year is $9,000.

He has been paired with Marrico Williams, who lives in a neighboring area and would have been a rival if it wasn’t for the scheme.

DeVone Boggan, who founded the Office of Neighborhood Safety in the city, told ABC the trips and money were about ‘getting their lives together’.

He added: ‘We want to expose them to a world where they go from, “I don’t give a …” to a place where, “Maybe I do.”

‘I see these young men as sons. And a part of their growth and development requires a little coddling, coaching… discipline, that’s what they get here.

‘It’s not that hard… These young men shoot because when they shoot they matter. It’s when we pay attention to them.’

In 2013, Richmond saw the lowest rate of homicides in 33 years, with the rate falling to 15 per 100,000.

Does this program make you want to move to California?