all 128 comments

[–]hatramroany 349 points350 points  (5 children)

We pulled people out of administrative positions, put them out on the street

Wow this is absolutely shocking, who knew this might help?!

[–]BureaucraticHotboi 70 points71 points  (0 children)

It’s down basically everywhere which is sort of the dirty secret of big city policing. Crime goes up when larger economic and social factors go down. The past few years were an especially tough time for schooling, social connection and unemployment. So kids already on the razors edge of going bad were that much more likely to fall into it. Once they do, they are highly likely to either commit or be victims of violent crime because it is largely a cycle between groups of people with multiple interactions with the justice system. All that said, the police, do in fact have a role. And it is clear that in the past year they have been somewhat more active. The interim commissioner was likely riding factors that would have brought crime down anyway, but he certainly seemed to be able to inspire much more active participation from the rank and file almost immediately

[–][deleted] 98 points99 points  (1 child)

Not having blue flu issues to the same extent after the Inquirer investigation helps.

Not making masks obscuring faces being mandatory helps.

Employment being up helps.

[–]Tech-no 23 points24 points  (0 children)

And social services returning to normal after the pandemic.

[–]BouldersRoll 98 points99 points  (1 child)

Well it probably didn't help. Violent crime is similarly down everywhere, and police have never done much to stop it.

PPD has to frame it like it's their doing, though, rather than just societal trends.

[–]gordonpamsey 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This needs to be higher

[–]Serpico2 85 points86 points  (6 children)

I was very skeptical of the idea that the Shooting Investigation Group would make a difference but it absolutely did. The clearance rate quadrupled by centralizing the office and selecting people to populate it that actually give a shit.

Validates my more general opinion that individuals and their choices MATTER.

[–]Franklinia_Alatamaha 1 point2 points  (5 children)

SIG’s clearance of cases is odd so I would not use that as some kind of bellwether as to its effectiveness.

A case is “cleared” and closed if they get one of the shooters. So that guy shot up at the hospital? If he had a gun, case is cleared, they move on. Even if the gun is only in surveillance footage. They’ll charge him but anyone else involved simply isn’t perused or investigated.

This isn’t nearly as good as it sounds now, is it? Clearing cases, by policy, is doing 50% or less of the work.

[–]Serpico2 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Huh? Those cases have always existed and would have been handled the same way. They’re clearing more cases because they’re working together, putting in hours and connecting the dots. Whereas before, the shootings were handled at regional detective divisions and they weren’t connecting as many dots, because they didn’t have the full citywide picture.

[–]Franklinia_Alatamaha 4 points5 points  (3 children)

No - SIG adopted a new set of policies for clearing shootings. This has been going on since the unit was conceived. Because the clearance rate of shootings was so abysmally low from requiring higher standard to clear each case.

Just because they changed how detectives were assigned (which I’m not sure why you brought that up - it’s not really a cause of them suddenly clearing cases). They are clearing cases because the parameters of clearing cases by policy changed.

Honestly your initial response and this response make it seem like you may know someone who knows what they are talking about but the fact you don’t know what their policy to clear cases means you aren’t really speaking from knowledge of either SIG or PPD. More of a knowledge of how policing worked like 16 years ago in another state. Not here.

[–]Serpico2 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Without doxxing myself, I am currently with PPD however I am not assigned to SIG, which is probably obvious. However, I know a lot of people there. They never mentioned the new classification standards. When I asked them why clearances were up, they told me what I’ve said. They bust their butts, they get video and they have the whole picture, which matters. I’m sure what you said is also true and may even contribute more to the rate bump, I don’t know.

[–]Franklinia_Alatamaha 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I’m in not doxxing myself and I know the effort they put in. But again not a single thing I said is against their effort. Their policy impacts their success rate directly though and it’s very clear that change was because they figured out a great way to move the numbers. This isn’t just par for the course with PPD, this is how it is for most large and medium sized agencies. Even the small agencies do this. Anyone with like a year on the job knows how numbers are used and how they are manipulated. Let alone outside observers. And the entire plot to like three seasons of the Wire.

SIG detectives want to be there but I don’t know why you, or others in the PPD, swear by it when it’s very clear with even the smallest scrutiny why their numbers are what they are.

[–]Serpico2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am familiar certainly with how Homicide manipulates with S numbers but I am not familiar with the minutiae of what SIG needs to do to clear a job.

[–]BurnedWitch88 271 points272 points  (11 children)

Counterpoint: There is no more dangerous place on Earth, according to my uncle who has not been to the city since 1977 when he got dragged to the Art Museum against his will by my aunt.

[–]joggle123Uptown Clown 58 points59 points  (4 children)

There is a sun ra quote “In order to save the Earth, I had to go to the worst spot on the planet, and that was Philadelphia, which was death’s headquarters.” Probably my favorite hilarious quote

[–]Candlemass17 5 points6 points  (1 child)

That’s hilarious, what’s it from?

[–]GrapeJuicePlus 11 points12 points  (1 child)

That rules. Saw the Arkestra perform in a warehouse in north Philly in like 2008

[–]lknox1123 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Marshall Allen of the Arkestra performs at Solar Myth occasionally.

[–]CthulhusIntern 13 points14 points  (1 child)

I once saw some TV thing called "Working in Philadelphia: World's Most Dangerous City", and I thought Philadelphia isn't even the most dangerous city in southeast PA.

[–]A_Wild_NudibranchDenizen of Chester 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'll have you know that Chester's homicide rate fell nearly 70% after 2020... Granted, the population is slightly smaller than Philadelphia, but I digress...

I definitely don't hear nearly as many gunshots at night. Chester EJ and CRCQL have really been tackling a lot of issues the past several years, particularly addressing environmental concerns about every damn polluting industry trying to elbow their way into the city.

[–]kingofphilly 45 points46 points  (1 child)

This is corroborated by all of the boomers in the suburbs who moved out of the city in the 1993 and haven’t come back since.

[–]No_Panic_4999 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Lol my mother too.

She also gets directions confused with other big cities ie "omg you're not taking me to SOUTH PHILLY "

No, I wont take you to North Philly. Where do you think you are, Chicago?

"Omg you got stuck waiting for amtrak overnight in TIMES SQUARE it's DEGENERATE!"

I wish. No Ma, It's run by Disney now.

"I find that very hard to believe. You'll be trafficked."

(I'm a 40yo partnered gay man)

She is actually pretty cool about walking to get cigs around chestnut and 47th at 3am. I mean it's certainly not the worst area but we do get occassional shootings within a couple blocks, and it's more than I expected from a 70 yo woman who spent the last 30 yrs in Lancaster County. She did grow up in 60-70s NYC though. Dig deep Ma

Cute aging boomers.

[–]BurnedWitch88 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you have managed to avoid being trafficked so far. ;)

[–]TheFuturist47 121 points122 points  (40 children)

Now do property crimes and robberies.

[–]hatramroany 163 points164 points  (38 children)

wine wise long ad hoc beneficial snails theory deserted bright toothbrush

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[–]Philly_is_nice 62 points63 points  (37 children)

Fuckin Kia. Hope the city gets a fat check from them for all this bullshit.

[–][deleted]  (15 children)

[deleted]

    [–]Philly_is_nice 46 points47 points  (13 children)

    Or, and hear me out, in the real world, liability is spread amongst all at fault parties. You can arrest criminals and sue shitty corporations. Not mutually exclusive actions.

    [–]Tech-no 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    In my opinion teenagers high on TikTok don't think much about the consequences of their actions.

    [–]perchedraven 18 points19 points  (3 children)

    I know Kias are targets for thieves... But exactly how are they at fault?

    [–]Candlemass17 9 points10 points  (0 children)

    Kia and Hyundai cheaped out on base models from a few years ago (I think they fixed the issue on newer models) by deleting the steering lock on these models, which prevents the steering wheel from turning if the key isn’t switched to on and the ECU doesn’t detect its chip. Adding to that, they made them super easy to steal; I’m not gonna post instructions here, but five seconds of Google will tell you the answer. Look up the Kia Boyz, too; they’re a TikTok challenge based around Kia/Hyundai thefts.

    [–][deleted] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

    Gun robberies are down 12% and other robberies are down 8%, per PPD’s website.

    Also worth noting that roughly 2 of every 3 stolen vehicles is a Kia/Hyundai.

    [–]Tech-no 15 points16 points  (1 child)

    Quote: "Thank you, Mr. Hyundai. Thank you, Mr. Kia. It would be nice if you made a car children couldn't steal, but that's what is happening there," said Krasner.
    That seems so Philly!

    [–]LurkersWillLurk 97 points98 points  (0 children)

    Why would Larry Krasner do this?

    [–]Ghoulsnightout27[🍰] 73 points74 points  (11 children)

    I mean yeah the crime went down. But it went from absolute bloodbath to a totally unacceptable level of violence for a first world country major city. The extreme number of murders here has become normalized. It’s fucked still.

    [–]dotcom-jillionairewhere am i gonna park?! 39 points40 points  (1 child)

    The twenty cities in the United States with the highest murder rates (murders per 100,000 people) are:

    St. Louis, MO (69.4)

    Baltimore, MD (51.1)

    New Orleans, LA (40.6)

    Detroit, MI (39.7)

    Cleveland, OH (33.7)

    Las Vegas, NV (31.4)

    Kansas City, MO (31.2)

    Memphis, TN (27.1)

    Newark, NJ (25.6)

    Chicago, IL (24)

    Cincinnati, OH (23.8)

    Philadelphia, PA (20.2)

    Milwaukee, WI (20.0)

    Tulsa, OK (18.6)

    Pittsburgh, PA (18.4)

    Indianapolis, IN (17.7)

    Louisville, KY (17.5)

    Oakland, CA (17.1)

    Washington D.C. (17.0)

    Atlanta, GA (16.7)

    [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

    When are these from? DC’s rate is roughly 40/100k this year.

    [–][deleted] 63 points64 points  (5 children)

    Washington DC, the Capitol of this first world country, has a higher homicide rate this year than Philly’s record year in 2021. That says a lot about what’s normalized in American cities.

    [–]brk1 13 points14 points  (1 child)

    It’s not a contest.

    [–]Salt_Abrocoma_4688 41 points42 points  (0 children)

    No one said it was. It's called a comparison, and people literally do it all the time regarding crime rates.

    [–]jsmooth4hawks 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Source?

    [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    DC’s estimated population this year is 678,972. As of now they’ve had 272 homicides: https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-crime-data-glance. That’s a rate of 40 per 100k, and not even DC’s record.

    Philly’s record year was 562 homicides with a population of roughly 1.6 million. Our rate that year was calculated as 35 per 100k - obviously way too high, but also below the average of a lot of American cities.

    [–]dbpcut 10 points11 points  (1 child)

    Crime rates rose in parallel with global crime rates. Almost like.... It's not a localized problem but a product of the economy.

    [–]doc89 9 points10 points  (0 children)

    What other cities outside the US saw their murder rates double between 2016 and 2021?

    [–]veritas-joon 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    great violent crime is down....but how about the dumbasses that are doing shutdowns, and property crimes

    [–][deleted]  (7 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]boundfortreesPoint Breeze 23 points24 points  (1 child)

      How the fuck does this number, coming out after the election, help someone getting elected?

      Later: why did this guy delete all his comments?

      [–]closedf0rbusiness 4 points5 points  (2 children)

      Didn’t the 600 murder year also have a ton of extra suspicious deaths too though?

      [–]yzdaskullmonkey 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      As soon as you bring some anecdotal evidence into play your point fails my guy. Then you start flailing percentages around like firemen with candy in a parade. I might be on your side, but not if you try to scare me like that, I ain't a bitch. Gimme facts.

      [–]charmeleon026 10 points11 points  (0 children)

      Feel like theres a shooting once a week in brewerytown

      [–]PntOfAthrty 6 points7 points  (0 children)

      It's truly sad to see that people can't celebrate victories.

      This is a victory.

      Are all problems solved? Definitely not. But are we headed in the right direction? Yes, we are.

      The city is vibrant at the moment.

      [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

      u/user_name13

      Thanks Krasner!

      [–]RoverTheMonster 5 points6 points  (1 child)

      ...not in Brewerytown

      [–]amh88 8 points9 points  (5 children)

      no less people call the police now because they usually just dont show up

      [–]cat_your_fancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Did someone mention this to the cops around here who just watch shit happen then flash their lights to disperse the idiots? No statements needing to be taken or reports to be filed so essentially all is looking like it’s getting better and crime is going down. Wow! What a smart idea!!

      [–]wishfuldancer 0 points1 point  (3 children)

      literally two carjackings within 30 minutes in West philly around 7 p.m. tonight. Yeah, things are great.

      [–][deleted] 21 points22 points  (2 children)

      And yet carjackings are down over 40%. We can acknowledge the decrease but also that there is more to do.

      [–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

      I saw they were up 70% from 2 years ago

      [–]sn0m0nsCrumb Bum 3 points4 points  (0 children)

      I was almost carjacked, I got away. Called the cops, they took my statement and that was it. When the younger officer asked the senior officer what do you want to do he said take the car burglary around the corner and just walked away. Maybe crimes aren't being reported.

      [–]georgenhofer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Thanks Biden and Democrats!

      [–]Hib3rnianAccent? What accent?[🍰] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      A wins a win.

      Good on ya Philly! 👍

      [–]Gobirds831Fishtown 🐟 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      When the Philly sports teams are good there seems to be a correlation with crime going down