Philly Murder Rates Rise Again
Looks like Philly is returning to it’s old ways, at least when it comes to murder. For the last couple of years the murder rate had been declining with the advent of Mayor Street’s Safe Streets program, but with the city’s coffers rapidly dwindling, that program has had to pull back a bit, and the murder rate is jumping right back up.
Already poised to top 300 slayings, Philadelphia is on track to have its worst year of killing since 1997.
At the current pace of homicides - more than one a day - Philadelphia would reach nearly 380 killings by the end of the year. There were 326 in 2004.
Only three years ago, in 2002, the number fell to a 17-year low with 288.
The increase comes as homicide rates in some other major cities remain flat or are declining.
To read the rest of the article in the Inquirer, go here.
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“Safe Streets” was a campaign ploy–like all of John “The Swindler” Street’s programs, it was all style and little substance (although NTI is the biggest and most infuriating example). Throw a bunch of money under a nice slogan and of course things will improve. Then, after the election’s over, start cutting the budgets in a wanton fashion.
It’s funny that this should come up immediately after the story about Ed Bacon–remember how the last project for Penn’s Landing turned out to be a ruse designed to glean more contributions to Street’s campaign? Just business as usual for Sly Street–ride the wave of pay to play while cutting needed programs.