Between the years 2003-2007, according to the Philadelphia Police Department, the number of violent crimes per year averaged over 22,100 instances per year. In the same report, the average number of murders in the same time period per year was 371.
These statistics are frightening and it is past time that the State, the City, our elected officials and residents work together to address Philadelphia”¦s public safety crisis.
Already, Commissioner Ramsey at the request of Mayor Nutter has released a Crime Plan that highlights Philadelphia”¦s strategy to tackle this crisis (http://www.ppdonline.org/pdf/hq/Crime%20Plan%20Final%201-29-08%20v2.pdf).
However, in order to tackle this issue, I believe that state legislators must do our part.
I believe that:
The root cause of criminal activity is poverty and the lack of economic opportunities. Without a living wage, individuals find alternative ways to support their families. In addition:
- The State should offer tax credits to businesses for hiring recently released felons to provide the individual a second chance and a new opportunity (similar to Mayor Nutter”¦s and Councilman Goode”¦s local tax credit).
- The Department of Corrections should receive additional funding to provide job-training programs to ensure recently released felons have the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce.
There are too many handguns available on our streets and it is too easy to obtain them:
- A mandatory waiting period and extensive background checks for handgun purchases should be implemented.
- Individuals should not be permitted to purchase more than one handgun per month in order to prevent the resale of multiple weapons on the streets.
- All handgun sales and lost and stolen handguns should be reported to law enforcement officials.
- The right to create local gun laws should be returned to Philadelphia.
In order to address community concerns, law enforcement officials and elected officials must communicate with communities:
- A taskforce made up of representatives of federal, state and local governments and neighborhood associations should be created in each neighborhood to ensure that concerns are addressed quickly, efficiently and appropriately.
Crime affects victims, disrupts families and damages neighborhoods:
- Additional funding should be directed to the Philadelphia Police Department, the Department of Human Services and other agencies to provide appropriate support services for those most affected.
In order to issue a summary citation for minor offenses, Philadelphia Police officers must take the offender to a police station, unnecessarily removing uniformed officers from the street:
- Philadelphia Police should have the ability to produce a handwritten citation ”V similar to a traffic ticket ”V as other Pennsylvania municipalities are permitted to do.
Not only must we address crime as it occurs, we must do more to prevent crime from happening at all:
- Additional state funding should be provided to improve after school programs, recreation centers and athletic leagues to ensure our children are active and supervised.
- The Youth Violence Reduction Partnership, anti-bullying programs and others have proven to be effective measures to reduce retaliation and juvenile crime. Additional funding should be provided.
- The Commonwealth should help finance Philadelphia”¦s surveillance camera program.
The men and women that protect us deserve adequate equipment, appropriate vehicles and well- maintained facilities.
- Pennsylvania”¦s capital budget should be used to assist the Police Department”¦s multi-year capital program.
When individuals are released on parole, parole officers have limited ability to enforce the conditions placed upon the individual.
- Parole officers should be given the ability to properly and fully enforce restrictions placed on their charges.
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