One year after Mayor Nutter and Commissioner Ramsey targeted nine high-crime police districts, is the city safer? Three new districts have been added to the targeted list. Can one, Police District 23rd, improve?
Mayor Nutter’s five-year plan in Philadelphia contains the goal of reducing homicides citywide by 50 percent in five years. Is this achievable? Police Office Denise Dixon, the community relations officer for the 23rd District, thinks so.
“It is feasible,” says Dixon, who was born and raised in North Philadelphia. “But the public has to understand [the mayor faces] a lot of problems that now he is trying to solve. It will probably get worse before it gets better.”
The 23rd District covers the neighborhood of North Broad Street from Poplar Avenue to Montgomery Avenue, and from 17th Street to 10th Street. It encompasses Temple University’s main campus, as well as many local businesses and residences. As a result, the 23rd District works closely with the Temple police. “We have great communication. We coordinate our efforts for big events,” Dixon says.
Crime in the 23rd District has certainly gotten worse. Homicides increased from 13 in 2007 to 22 in 2008. In 2007 and 2008 there were 629 and 623 violent crime incidents, respectively; but since 2006 when there were 320 reported incidents. Violent crime has almost doubled.
With crime reduction given top priority, Mayor Nutter immediately appointed Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to spearhead efforts. Nine police districts with particularly high rates of crime were chosen to receive additional targeted resources and attention.
With crime reduction given top priority, Mayor Nutter immediately appointed Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to spearhead efforts. Nine police districts with particularly high rates of crime were chosen to receive additional targeted resources and attention.
According to Police Department reports, homicide, in the targeted districts, is down 40 percent, shooting is down 30 percent, and violent crime
is down 7.5 percent. Homicides citywide have been reduced by 24 percent and shootings are down 25 percent. But violent crime is up 11 percent.According to Police Department reports, homicide, in the tareted districts, is down 40 percent, shooting is down 30 percent, and violent crime is down 7.5 percent. Homicides citywide have been reduced by 24 percent and shootings are down 25 percent. But violent crime is up 11 percent.
Josue Alvarado, a Temple University groundskeeper for more than 26 years, has noticed that “[since Mayor Nutter has been in office] the crime problem has been a little better. I see the police all the time.”
Alvarado believes that the Temple Police and the 23rd District have a good partnership in patrolling the area. The most common crime he encounters is broken car windows. Sultan Ahmad, an employee of 7-Eleven, located one block off Broad Street, also feels that the added security of having Temple police patrol the 23rd along with district officers helps him feel safe at work.
While shoplifting is his biggest concern, he says that it does not happen often. “The police are nice, and two districts check in all the time. They sign the police log book and ask how everything is. The walk around day and night. They sit on the road and watch out for everyone.”
Because of the initiative’s effectiveness, in February Commissioner Ramsey added three additional police districts to be targeted: the 16th, 23rd and 24th. While crime citywide has gone down significantly and even more in the original targeted districts, it has continued to rise in these three. Dixon says that Commissioner Ramsey’s dedication and sincerity is evident in his openness with the rest of the department . “He really cares about his police officers. When he
visits, he is very personable. Our [station] building is old and needs to be built back up. Commissioner Ramsey came to visit, and it was repainted and cleaned,” she says.
Commissioner Ramsey extends more help to targeted districts by meeting with their captains regularly. “There is a meeting every Wednesday with the commissioner and the district captains. [They discuss] why are these crimes taking place and how can we eradicate them?” says Dixon.
The districts that border the neighborhood of North Broad Street from Girard to Erie avenues were, with the exception of the 23rd, originally targeted. Statistics provided by the department for murder, violent crime, rape, and robbery with a gun show a different picture of the area. It seems to be less improved than areas such as South and Northeast Philly.
Violent crime almost doubled in the 22nd, 25th and 39th Districts from 2006 to 2007, and there were extremely small decreases in incidents from 2007 to 2008. In all these districts, robbery with a gun incidents have risen from 2007 to 2008.
Rape has risen 30 percent in the 22nd District in the last year, and it rose 35 percent in the 25th. Across the city, many districts have not experienced any significant decreases in incidents of rape or robbery.
Has the drastic reduction of murders in the targeted districts shadowed other alarming public safety issues?
With the budget and economic crises in play, Dixon notes a decrease in funding, as well as the ability to raise funds. She has currently raised only half as much money for the Police Athletic League this year as she did last year.
If Dixon had unlimited resources to fight crime in her district, she “would start with the youth and [addressing] crime in schools. Educate and establish mentors so the youth can have a projection. We also need to work with parents, [such as] resources, parenting classes and education on health issues and mental illness.”
For now, Dixon concentrates on educating community members on how to help their own neighborhoods be safer. The biggest obstacle the department faces is “people not being our eyes and ears. I know they are scared, but they are letting [crime] develop. All it takes is one call. They don’t have to get anymore involved than that.”
In addition, Dixon trains community members in ways to best assist the police, such as how to best describe a suspect or vehicle to emergency personnel.
The mayor’s five-year budget proposes an increase in public spending of $178 million, totaling 28 percent of the budget, versus 24 percent in 2008. In addition, Nutter says he will not lay off any police officers for at least five years.
It remains to be seen whether the budget and the concentration on specific districts wil actually decrease criminal activity.
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