PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council spent three hours questioning the District Attorney during this week's budget hearings. There were clear signs that Council's relationship with the DA's office has frayed.
Council and District Attorney Larry Krasner share many of the same goals — bail reform, decriminalizing low-level offenses and improving police conduct — so previous budget hearings have generally been friendly.
Surging gun crime, however, has clearly taken its toll. Council President Darrell Clarke suggested Krasner has neglected his primary responsibility as the chief law enforcement officer, in pursuing other objectives.
"I need to get a sense that you understand what people out in these neighborhoods are talking about, about being safe. I don't get a sense of that from you," charged Clarke.
As Krasner's response meandered around a previous district attorney and police performance, Clarke became impatient.
"With all due respect, you're giving these long answers and it's a relatively short question," Clarke said. "Are you somehow in that role of responsibility for those cases getting solved? I mean, I'm not hearing that."
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Other Council members were equally pointed. Councilwoman Cindy Bass complained about a sense of lawlessness.
"There's a feeling of invincibility among some of the criminal element in our city. Most folks in Philadelphia feel very concerned about the direction the city is going in terms of addressing crime and particularly prosecution where they feel that there's a revolving door, that people who are arrested and charged are easily let go, that there’s not the level of enforcement from the district attorney’s office or seeming concern around the severity of different types of crime," said Bass.
"I hear it from my constituents all the time and I don't know anyone who's not concerned about the culture in the city right now."
Throughout the three-hour hearing, Krasner defended his office, without ever expressing a doubt or acknowledging his approach might contribute to residents' concerns.
Learn more about Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and her crime-fighting approach on Bridging Philly.
