City willing to pay people not to commit crimes

By Patrick Jones

Officials in on San Francisco suburb are testing out a controversial program to combat violence that has plagued the city, offering to pay people not to commit crimes.

The program, named Advance Peace, is being run as an experiment in Richmond, California. The city has hired convicted felons to work with troubled youth. If the youngsters, or fellows, do well in the voluntary program after six months and don't fall back into bad habits, they can earn up to $1,000 a month, or trips to places like Washington D.C., New York City an even London.

The experiment has been somewhat controversial, with some victims speaking out against the idea of the city giving money to those who have wrong them. Some have even called for the victims of violence to receive the money and trips.

On the other side, one fellow named Sylvan, who has been in jail for drug crimes, told Fox News, "I've never had a job. I'm 26 and just now getting a job. I never knew what a W-2 was, or how you make [a] resume. They taught me everything."