PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council members Thursday released a 196-page report they commissioned 18 months ago, to explore why violence has gone up so sharply in the city.
Councilmember Curtis Jones often complains about a lack of urgency in the response to Philadelphia’s homicide epidemic.
"If 500 whales washed up on the shore of the Delaware [River], every marine biologist in the world including Jacques Cousteau’s ghost would come and try to figure out why this tragedy," he said Thursday.
Jones proposed that city departments including police, the district attorney's office, and public health collaborate to find the cause of gun violence, in hopes of finding solutions.
In a close study of more than 200 shootings, researchers found that half stem from arguments. Another 18% are drug-related.
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Most of the suspects have used non-criminal city services, most commonly for behavioral health, and previously witnessed violence.
Suspects and victims alike tend to be males of color between 18 and 35 years old, with prior criminal histories.
The show of unity on Thursday was very much a part of the message, as Jones noted.
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"What is special about this gathering is not just the findings and recommendations in this report," he said.
"It is the level of cooperation between departments, the breaking down of silos."
However, the data from the report did not lead seamlessly to solutions. The report shows continuing disagreement about how to address violent crime.
The police and district attorney, for example, have separate analyses that seem to contradict each other.
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Police see a connection between illegal firearms and the increase in shootings. They advocate strict enforcement of gun laws and see lenient treatment of offenders in court, and a failure to win convictions, as a cause for concern.
The DA’s office, on the other hand, says it does not believe arresting and convicting people for illegal gun possession reduces shootings.
But there was agreement on steps to improve both the arrest rate and conviction rate in shooting cases.
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Consensus recommendations also include increasing positive interactions between police and citizens and building trust with more foot patrols and community engagement.
The police plan to launch a special unit next week. They will focus the unit on investigating non-fatal shootings.
The report also recommends increasing support for victims and witnesses so they are more likely to testify at trials.
