A mentorship program in Fresno, California, pairs former convicts and gang members with underage shooters who are paid $1,000 a month to stay out of trouble, in a bid to drive down the city's murder rate, even if the mentees are still on the streets committing crimes. Advance Peace Fresno is one chapter of the program that is already running, or set to launch, in nine cities and began in Richmond, California, in 2016. Those who run the program are called Neighborhood Change Agents who are provided a list of prospective shooters from police and recruit them into what they refer to as a fellowship that pays them to accomplish program goals like getting a job or taking a class. In most cases, it's funded by a combination of local and state dollars and nonprofits. Fresno's city council approved $125,000 of Advance Peace's $1.8 million budget last year when the program launched in its city. In June, it agreed to continue providing such funding for another three years. It is unclear where the rest of the program's money comes from. Advance Peace Fresno pairs former convicts and gang members with underage shooters who are paid $1,000 a month to stay out of trouble Fresno's city council approved $125,000 of Advance Peace's $1.8 million budget last year when the program launched in its city Supporters of the program say it actually saves money by driving down crime rates and helping mentees become productive members of society, but critics say that it is a 'misuse' of taxpayer funds that puts too much trust in criminals to do the right thing. Earlier this year, Devrick Hill, 17, was in the process of joining the program when he was arrested for allegedly opening fire outside a car during a gang dispute, according to The Wall Street Journal. DeVone Boggan, CEO of Advance Peace, told the news outlet that is a 'common occurrence' for fellows to continue committing crimes and getting into trouble in the early stages of their involvement, adding that it takes time for Advance Peace workers to become an influential force in the lives of its fellows. Advance Peace chooses potential fellows by surveying a list from police that includes people with recent firearms arrests or those suspected in recent shootings, its local program manager, Aaron Foster, told the Wall Street Journal. Foster said that the best approach for Devrick was to pair him with Roger Brown, a rapper in the program who goes by the name Syrup and has a dedicated online following. Devrick is an aspiring musician and, Foster said, he hoped introducing him to Brown would help him redirect his energy into a productive passion rather than gang violence. Devrick, who goes by the nickname 'D Hill,' said he first joined a gang when he was in ninth grade and his cousin was killed. A star on his school's football team at the time, Devrick dropped out and left his goals behind for a life on the streets. But since joining Advance Peace, Devrick has found a place to live, re-enrolled in school and join a job-training program. DeVone Boggan, CEO of Advance Peace, told the news outlet that is a 'common occurrence' for fellows to continue committing crimes and getting into trouble in the early stages of their involvement Fresno's chapter is one of nine that is already running, or set to launch He even recorded his own song in Syrup's recording studio last month, called 'Insecurities.' In it, he sings, 'You can't blame me for my sins because I'm a better man today.' Devrick told the Wall Street Journal that he now wants to leave behind his life as a shooter, saying, 'When I was younger…I wanted to be called that. Now I'd rather be low-key.' But not all believe that all fellows in the program would turn out like Devrick. Garry Bredefeld, a Republican city councilman, voted against funding the program and said, 'I don't know why we would give people stipends to do the right thing. That is complete insanity and a misuse of taxpayer funds.' Boggan likened the stipend to an allowance parents would give to their children and said that some members don't have that relationship with their parents or the means of getting a job. He added that it's necessary to keep them involved in the program. He said, 'I know a lot of people who got allowances growing up, I know a lot of people who got a little extra dough when they did well in school. These guys haven't had a childhood.' When the program was launched in Richmond in 2016, Fox News spoke with victims' rights activist Lorrain Taylor, whose twin sons were gunned down in the nearby city of Oakland at 22. Taylor vehemently opposed the idea and said, 'If I were to find out that the guy who murdered my twin sons was getting a thousand dollars for a promise? I mean, how can you trust? ... I mean, if they kill somebody, they will lie.' But supporters say the goal is to intervene before someone's life could be changed forever by committing a fatal shooting. Advance Peace chooses potential fellows by surveying a list from police that includes people with recent firearms arrests or those suspected in shootings Over half of the murders in this city of 542,000 surrounded by farms are gang-related, Lt. Andre Benson, who heads the police department's gang unit, told the Wall Street Journal. There are approximately 25,000 gang members or associates in Fresno, he added. Foster called 17-year-old Jaylin Johnson, whose nickname was 'Lil Gunna' regularly, but couldn't get him to commit. In late December, Jaylin was shot and killed. To maintain credibility with the fellows, Advance Peace workers don't help with police investigations even when they know who is involved in shootings. In the first five years of the program, 94% of the 68 fellows didn't die, 79% hadn't been arrested or on gun-related charges, and only 60% had received monetary incentives, according to an evaluation by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, a nonprofit research group. Jason Corburn, a University of California, Berkeley professor who has evaluated the group's work in Sacramento and Stockton, Calif., told the Wall Street Journal that over the course of an 18-month Advance Peace fellowship, less than $20,000 is typically spent on a cohort of 30 to 50 individuals and an average of 20 to 50 shootings are prevented. 'If you were an economist, you'd say that's a great return on investment,' he said. San Francisco launched its own program similar to Advance Peace earlier this month. A photo shared by San Francisco police last month shows a woman dangling an AK-47 out the passenger window of a Cadillac. The city will now pay people not to shoot each other San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, insisted in an interview that the generous program is not simply 'cash for criminals' According to Corburn's study, after two years of implementation in Stockton — from October 2018 through September 2020 — Advance Peace recruited 34 fellows, interrupted 44 gun-violence conflicts and mediated over 500 community conflicts that prevented escalation into gun violence. That work contributed to a 21% reduction in Stockton's gun homicides and assaults compared to the average rate dating back to 2015. Specific districts within the city saw even more of an impact with over 45% reductions in gun homicides and assaults over that same time period. Citywide, gun homicides alone dropped by 20%. 'These are the hardest to reach people,' said Corburn. 'The most likely to be 'trigger-pullers.' They've almost all been shot, incarcerated and/or traumatized by police. The expectation is they're going back to jail. To turn them around and to give them an alternative to violence is pretty crucial.' He added, 'This program plays a role that police can't, and never will. They have credible messengers that are able to disrupt the gun violence, and change the community dynamic by building trust. And that's the beginning of redeveloping neighborhoods in a healthy way. It's a model that works.' Sometimes, however, Advance Peace conflicts with police when its members get caught up in a crime. 'Unfortunately, we've arrested several people that Advance Peace have tried to help. They understand that we have a job to do as well,' he told the Wall Street Journal. In Advance Peace's Richmond flagship, a 2019 study from the American Journal of Public Health credited Advance Peace for helping reduce gun homicides in the city by 55percent. But critics say the findings were viewed with too small of a sample size to gauge if such a program would be successful again or elsewhere. The Washington Examiner's David Freddoso wrote, 'Violent criminals need jail. They do not need cash. People who shoot other people need to be walled off in prisons and kept away from the rest of us. No one deserves to be paid for not shooting people.' Programs like Advance Peace are becoming more and more common in cities aiming to curb gun violence. Earlier this month, San Francisco rolled out a pilot program, called the Dream Keeper Initiative, which recruited 10 individuals who are deemed at high risk of committing a shooting or being shot and is paying them $300 a month to lay down their guns and act as 'public safety ambassadors.' Sweeteners could kick the monthly payments up to $500 if they meet certain benchmarks, such as seeking a job or maintaining parole appointments. The program will be funded by local taxpayers, along with private donations and possibly a federal grant. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, insisted in an interview that the generous program is not simply 'cash for criminals.' 'These folks do not have any sort of income. And so part of what we're trying to do is make sure that money is not a barrier to turning your life around,' Breed told KPIX-TV last month. Breed said: 'We're looking for ways to provide incentives to make sure that they are actively engaged in seeing their parole and probation officers.' She added, 'The data shows that when you provide people with opportunities, that could change somebody's life.' Sheryl Davis, the executive director of the Human Rights Commission, also asserts that there is more to the program than what some might take at face value. She said to Fox News, 'It's not necessarily as cut and dry as folks may think. It's not as transactional as, 'Here's a few dollars so that you don't do something bad,' but it really is about how you help us improve public safety in the neighborhood. As you become better, your community benefits from that.' All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility