PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Shootings in Philadelphia are up nearly 30% from this time last year, and homicides are up nearly 40%.
Philadelphia police say they have taken more guns off the street, but they and the mayor contend they are only one part of a team effort in the battle against gun violence.
"These numbers are absolutely appalling," Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said, as she highlighted some statistics:
• Nearly 300 homicide victims in 2021 (an all-time high), compared to about 200 at this time in 2020
• More than 1,100 gunshot victims in 2021, compared to nearly 900 at this time in 2020
• 140 gunshot victims under the age of 18 in 2021
• 63 shootings over the last seven days
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Outlaw said police have taken more than 3,000 guns off the street, the most in the city's history for this point in the year, but they still see repeat gun offenders as both suspects and victims, and they are arresting the same people.
"Far too many times, we review these cases. We find out that either the victims or the offenders have open [Violation of Uniform Firearm Act] cases or multiple VUFA cases that may not be open, but there is a pattern there. That statistic has not changed," she said.
"We know that getting illegal guns off the street is a tried-and-true strategy, but, again, police are just slowly spinning our wheels if we are getting the guns off the street, we are getting the people off the street that are illegally carrying these firearms, and nothing is happening as far as serious consequences. And again, we are not talking about someone who is carrying and let their license expire or lapse for a short period of time. We are talking about people with serious violent history."
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She said they have been meeting with the District Attorney's Office routinely to tighten up cases, but she also said the conviction rate is going in the opposite direction.
"We are all for prevention, all for intervention, whole-heartedly," she said. "There has to be a stick for those who are most violent, because we know there is a very small percentage of individuals who are driving the violent crime in the city."
Mayor Jim Kenney added that each part of the criminal justice system needs to be a part of the solution, not just police.
"I think, as the courts open up more and more, we are going to see an improvement in that number," said Kenney, adding that the district attorney and the courts must "hold up their end also" as "part of the same team."
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The mayor and other city officials pointed to other parts of the country where numbers of shootings and homicides are up.
Lawmakers have repeatedly called for stricter state and federal gun laws, especially when it comes to assault rifles and ghost guns, which can’t be tracked.
The mayor said the city is continually pumping money into gun violence prevention and intervention strategies, with hopes of quelling this year’s all-time high.
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