Deadly Sacramento rap battle pushes city to vote on controversial Advance Peace gun-violence program | The Sacramento Bee
Deadly online rap battle prompts Sacramento to move forward on controversial gang program
BY ANITA CHABRIA AND RYAN LILLIS
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AUGUST 29, 2017 11:55 AM
A deadly shooting in Meadowview over the weekend related to a trio of local rappers and the gangs who support them pushed the Sacramento City Council to immediately approve a controversial gun-violence prevention program that targets the handful of young men suspected of being behind most of the violence.
In front of a packed City Council Chambers, the council voted 9-0 on Tuesday to adopt a three-year, $1.5 million contract for Advance Peace, a mentoring and intervention approach to gun violence. Pioneered in Richmond, the program is credited by city leaders there for significantly reducing gun crime, but has been criticized for giving cash stipends to participants for reaching goals such as earning a high school diploma.
The Advance Peace program in Sacramento would target about 50 young men, mostly black and Latino, who are thought by police and city leaders to be responsible for most gun violence in the city, especially gang-related crimes that are often retaliatory and personal. City police are currently investigating five homicides this year that are possibly gang related, said police spokesman Officer Eddie Macaulay. In total, 13 people in the city have died this year from gunshot wounds.
