Philly's Homicide Count Hit 353 last year... - Philadelphia Has Gone To Hell In A Handbasket

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7 Homicides in Philly Since Friday

PHILADELPHIA - July 30, 2007 - The latest person killed in Philadelphia was shot early this morning, in another violent weekend.

The victim was shot and killed just before 3 a.m. inside a home along the 6200 block of Morton Street in Philadelphia's Germantown (Coontown) section.

Two people were seen running from the scene. The ran east on Washington Lane.

Earlier during the weekend, 16-year old Luis Navarro, Jr., was shot to death for his new dirt bike. Navarro was killed Saturday when he was shot in the back 3 times while he rode the dirt bike in Feltonville park.

In an exclusive Action News interview, the boy's father says his son did nothing to deserve what happened to him. Here's a picture of Luis Navarro's dirt bike. If you can help police crack this case, homicide detectives are urging you to give them a call.

Detectives are trying to piece together what appears to be a murder in Fairmount Park.

The burned body of a woman was found Sunday morning along Kelly Drive near Strawberry Mansion drive.

Firefighters were responding to a call of a garbage fire when they realized it was much more serious.

The victim is in her 20's. Her name is not yet known.

More will be known after an autopsy is done.

A woman found beaten to death inside her home apparently died at the hands of her boyfriend, police said.

Police said Demicco's boyfriend, Michael Johnson, 36, has confessed to the murder, saying he killed her last Saturday after an argument. Police said some sort of wooden object was used and blunt force trauma appears to be the cause of death. Johnson faces murder charges.
 
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Three Shootings Took Place Overnight In Philadelphia
Another Tick On The Murder Tally For Philadelphia

POSTED: 9:34 am EDT August 4, 2007
UPDATED: 10:31 am EDT August 4, 2007

PHILADELPHIA -- The 248th homicide of the year took place Saturday morning in Philadelphia.

It took place in the Crescentville section of the city at around midnight. A 35-year-old man was shot and killed near the intersection of Alcott and Colgate streets, police said.

They have no suspect and no motive.

Less than an hour later, a double-shooting took place in Philadelphia.

Two men were badly wounded in what appears to have been a drive-by attack.

It happened on the 1400 block of Alden Street in the Carrol Park section of the city.

The wounded men are reported in stable condition.
 
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Teen, Mother Among 3 Killed Within 12-Hour Window

17-Year-Old Becomes City's 258th Homicide Victim

POSTED: 6:18 pm EDT August 15, 2007
UPDATED: 12:08 pm EDT August 16, 2007

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia police said three people were killed in five shootings that occurred within a 12-hour window in Philadelphia.

The latest slaying took place early Thursday morning in Southwest Philadelphia, where detectives found a woman fatally shot on the 200 block of South Alden Street. They were still trying to identify her.

Wednesday afternoon, four shootings rang out within an hour and a half, with one incident taking place outside of a rec center.

Five others were injured after the flurry of gunfire began at about 4:30 p.m. and pushed the city's homicide total to 258 before Thursday morning's homicide added another fatality.

One of the shootings was reported at 26th and Jefferson streets on the playground of a North Philadelphia recreation center, where a league organizer told NBC 10 a 16-and-under basketball game was going on and at least a dozen kids were on the court.

"What's it like to try to run a basketball league here? Hard -- that's bottom line," said Anthony Sharp, who runs the basketball league for teenagers that was interrupted by investigators collecting casing from the shootout by teenagers. "This is what I do to try to keep them from being one of the knuckleheads that did the shooting or one of the other knuckleheads who got shot. If they were doing something positive, maybe this would have never happened."

Police said Wednesday night they believe three people were shot at that location -- including 17-year-old Jamile Collins, who was killed. Two others were shot there and were taken into police custody.

An 18-year-old found in the bathroom of the rec center was listed in critical condition and in officers' custody at Temple University Hospital, police said.

Another man seen fleeing the scene was also reported in custody.

A man struck in the foot by a bullet told officers he was shot a couple of blocks away, but police said they believe he was also was at the rec center at the time of the shooting.

NBC 10's Justin Pizzi reported that signs of the police investigation included bullet markers on the playground and caution tape wrapped through a jungle gym.

In a separate incident, a double shooting in the Juniata section of the city left a 26-year-old mother of three dead of one gunshot wound and a 35-year-old man in stable condition despite being struck seven times.

The shooting at about 5:30 p.m. on the 1600 block of East Hunting Park Avenue.

Neighbors told NBC 10 a police tactical team that was coincidentally in the area found a man with a bloody shirt, leading to the discovery of the shooting.

Officers who went inside the home found the woman's body, and there was blood on all three floors of the home. NBC 10 reported the man was a realtor and friend of the woman.

The victim was identified as Elizabeth Nunez.

Police reported no suspects or arrests in the shooting, and investigators said they were going to the hospital to interview the male victim.

Elsewhere, a man and a teenage boy were reported shot at separate locations, both at about 4:30 p.m. Police said investigation revealed that the two incidents were not connected.

The 14-year-old was shot in the abdomen, right forearm and right chest at about 4:30 p.m. near East Mayland and Lowber streets, in the West Oak Lane section of the city, police said.

The teen was later dropped off by a private automobile near the intersection of 12th Street and Tabor Avenue, in the Logan section of Philadelphia, and rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was listed in critical but stable condition Wednesday night.

The male in 20s was found shot in leg at about the same time on the 400 block of Mechanic Street and was also taken to Einstein, police said. He was listed in stable condition.

No arrests or motives were reported in either of those shootings.
 
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Suspects Sought in 3 Overnight Murders

August 17, 2007 - The city of Philadelphia recorded three more murders overnight.

An unidentified man was shot several times around 4 a.m. on the 30-hundred block of Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia.

No word on suspects or a motive.

Earlier in the night police say a man was stabbed to death by his girlfriend's mother early this morning. It happened around 1 o'clock in the 800 block of East Willard Street in Kensington.

The killer is still on the loose.

The other murder came late last night. Around 11:30 a 21-year-old man was shot in the back and killed in the 19-hundred block of South Salford Street in Southwest Philadelphia.

The murderer fled on foot. Police have yet to determine a motive for the deadly shooting.

Authorities are continuing to investigate both of the deadly overnight incidents.
 
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Deadly Day in Philadelphia; 4 Killed

By T.J. Alexander

August 29, 2007 - Philadelphia Police have had their hands full today as they are investigating their fourth murder of the day.

The latest murder happened in the 12-hundred block of North 16th Street in North Philadelphia. Police say a man between the ages of 30 and 40 suffered a gunshot wound to the head in the rear alley of the New Peking restaurant around 2:13 this afternoon.

He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The violence started this morning in the city's Crescentville section. Around 7:45 this morning inside a residence on the 500 block of East Hill Creek Drive, a 28-year-old Hispanic woman was found dead, shot in the chest.

Police are looking for a Hispanic man in his late 20's, about 5'5, wearing a blue t-shirt, blue pants and a blue hat in connection with the shooting.

Later in the morning, a woman's body was found inside a bedroom in the city's Ogontz section. Officials made the discovery around 10:25, and upon arrival found the woman, said to be in her 30's, on the floor stabbed numerous times in the stomach.

Police don't have a motive or suspects for this case.

Then around 1 this afternoon in South Philadelphia a man in his 60's was shot in the leg. This incident happened just before 1 p.m. near 23rd and Morris Streets.

The victim was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he later died of his injuries.

Police have no suspects.
 
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Holiday Horror: Four More Murders in Philadelphia

By Ray Regan

The violence in Philadelphia isn't easing this Labor Day weekend. Police are investigating four murders early Saturday morning.

The carnage began with a shooting on the 3800 block of Haverford Avenue in Powelton.

Someone shot a man in the head and chest.

He died later at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The second shooting happened in West Kensington, an hour later, around 3 o'clock.

A man was found bleeding on the 600 block of East Wishart Street.

He died from a bullet wound to the head.

The third victim was found minuters later, at 31st and Norris Streets in Strawberry Mansion.

He was also shot in the head.

The fourth homicide occurred in West Philadelphia.

Police responded to shots fired at 61st and Callowhill Streets, around 4:30.

A man was shot to death while sitting in a car.

Police have no suspects in custody in any of these cases.

All of the victims died in their twenties.
 
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4 People Slain In 4 Separate Shootings

POSTED: 12:27 pm EDT September 1, 2007
UPDATED: 2:14 pm EDT September 1, 2007

PHILADELPHIA -- It was a particularly deadly night on the streets of Philadelphia Saturday due to the four separate shootings that killed four people.

The first shooting happened just after 2:30 a.m. on the 3800 block of Haverford Avenue in the Mantua section of the city. In this incident, two men, a 17-year-old and a 20-year-old, were shot and wounded. The 17-year-old was hit in the hand. He remains hospitalized. The 20-year-old was struck in the head and died a short time later.

Then, seven miles away and only 40 minutes later, another man was shot in the head on Allegheny Avenue in Kensington. The shooting took place at around 3:20 a.m. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A mere four miles to the east and an hour later at 4:30 a.m., another shooting took place. This one occurred near the intersection of 31st Street and Norris Avenue in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city.

A half an hour later at around 5 a.m., a 27-year-old man was shot and killed. That killing took place on the 6100 block of Callowhill Street. It became the 281st homicide so far this year in Philadelphia. That’s 20 ahead of last year's grim pace, which was the worst in nine years.
 
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Weekend Murder Toll in Philadelphia Hits 6

PHILADELPHIA - September 2, 2007 - Two more people were killed overnight in Philadelphia, bringing the Labor Day murder total to 6 so far.

Action News was on the scene at a ball field at the Mann Recreation Center in Fairmount Park.

Police say a man in the bleachers was shot several times. It's believed he was chased from his car which was parked across the street.

In South Philadelphia, police were called to an apartment in the 1400 block of Reed Street where two women were arguing Saturday night.

Police say one woman pulled out a knife, stabbed the other woman and pushed her out a window.

The victim later died at the hospital.

The killings overnight Saturday into Sunday bring the total of holiday weekend murders to six so far.

The carnage began with a shooting on the 3800 block of Haverford Avenue in Powelton. Someone shot a man in the head and chest. He died later at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The second shooting happened in West Kensington, an hour later, around 3 a.m. Saturday. A man was found bleeding on the 600 block of East Wishart Street. He died from a bullet wound to the head.

The third victim was found minutes later, at 31st and Norris Streets in Strawberry Mansion. He was also shot in the head.

The fourth homicide occurred in West Philadelphia. Police responded to shots fired at 61st and Callowhill Streets, around 4:30 a.m. A man was shot to death while sitting in a car.
 
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Johnson Seeks 10,000 Moolies to Patrol City Streets

By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - September 13, 2007 - The city's embattled police chief, acknowledging that police alone cannot quell a run of deadly violence, called on 10,000 men to patrol the streets to reduce crime.

Sylvester Johnson says black men, in particular, have a duty to protect more vulnerable residents since most shootings involve young black males.

Johnson, who is black, wants each volunteer to pledge to work three hours a day for at least 90 days.

"We are definitely encouraging black men to be involved in it," Johnson said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. "We have an obligation to give back. We have an obligation to protect our women, our children, our elderly."

But Johnson said he would not turn away men of other races.

"We have to put the tourniquet where we're bleeding at this point," he said. "We're not restricting anybody."

The program's backers include Dennis Muhammad, a former Nation of Islam official who has been hired by police departments in Detroit, Syracuse, N.Y., and other cities to conduct community-sensitivity training.

Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city, has nearly 1.5 million residents, 44 percent of them black. It has notched 294 homicides this year. More than 80 percent of the slayings involve handguns and most involve young black males.

Johnson plans to introduce the "Call to Action: 10,000 Men, It's a New Day" program on Oct. 21, three months before his planned retirement.

"He won't get anywhere near that number. If he gets 1,000 people, it will be great," said Heather DeRussy, who leads a local Guardian Angels chapter that has recruited just seven members over the past two years. Given its size, the group focuses on a single North Philadelphia park plagued by prostitution and drug use.

DeRussy lauds Johnson for his effort, but fears the volunteers will find it dangerous to patrol their home turf.

"In their own neighborhoods, with the 'Don't snitch' mentality, they're kind of putting themselves in harm's way, because there are going to be people who disagree with what they're doing," DeRussy said.

The men who join Johnson's program will not carry weapons or make arrests, but will instead emphasize conflict resolution, similar to the Guardian Angels' ground rules.

Police in other cities have hired Muhammad in recent years to provide sensitivity training to officers and community members, but it was not immediately clear if any have deployed a volunteer patrol force.

Johnson, who had led the police department for seven years, seems increasingly frustrated by the daily gun violence. He and other city leaders have blamed the Legislature for not passing gun-control measures.

Mayor John F. Street, whose term is up at the beginning of 2008, has voiced support for the program, but it was not clear if he would become involved. His office did not return a call for comment Thursday.

Street and Johnson have both endured withering criticism from frustrated residents and community leaders who think they should do more to halt the violence.

One gun-violence researcher said idea of putting citizens on patrol has the potential of showing children that adults care.

"A steady exposure to violence just creates this toxic environment for children and youth. As adults, we don't want them to think they have to handle it on their own," said Rose Cheney, executive director of the Firearm and Injury Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

"If, by putting people out there - not just as a town watch, but as resources who connect them to what they need from adults - that can be very promising," she said.
 
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City Accepts Offer Of Help; State Police To Patrol Streets

POSTED: 1:36 pm EDT September 14, 2007
UPDATED: 3:43 pm EDT September 14, 2007

PHILADELPHIA -- Officials said Pennsylvania state police are going to start patrolling the streets of Philadelphia.

City Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said this doesn't mean the city is in a state of emergency, but said he is accepting the governor's offer to help fight crime, a growing problem in the City of Brotherly Love.

At a Friday morning news conference announcing the new plan, officials would not say how many state troopers will be assigned the duty or what parts of the city they'll patrol. The patrols were set to begin Friday night.

Philadelphia had more than 400 homicides in 2006 and is on track to exceed that number this year.
 
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Philadelphia's Murder Rate Continues To Climb

POSTED: 4:29 pm EDT September 23, 2007
UPDATED: 4:37 pm EDT September 23, 2007


PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia's murder rate continues to climb.

The latest victim is a 30-year-old man.

He is the 303rd person murdered this year.

The victim was shot several times in the back.

It happened overnight at 9th and Somerset Streets in North Philadelphia.

So far, police have made no arrests.
 
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http://www.philly.com/dailynews/loc...ll_so_far_this_year__7_shootings__4_dead.html Rec center toll so far this year: 7 shootings, 4 dead
By CHRISTINE OLLEY

olleyc@phillynews.com 215-854-5184

Recreation centers should be filled with slides and see-saws, basketballs and happy, playing children. Instead, this year, they have been plagued with flying bullets, violent shootouts and death.
Since Jan. 1, there have been seven shootings, four of them fatal, at seven city rec centers.

Jan. 6: Three people were wounded inside the Simons Recreation Center on Woolston Avenue near East Walnut Lane in West Oak Lane after Michael Taylor, 32, allegedly opened fire with a rifle during an afternoon basketball game. A 19-year-old man was shot in the back, a 20-year-old was shot in the left leg and a 23-year-old was shot in the right hand.

March 12: Albert Hughs, 18, of South Philadelphia, was shot once in the head after a basketball game in Dickinson Square Park, Morris Street near Orianna Street in South Philadelphia. James Graham, 23, of Greenwich Street near 4th in South Philadelphia, was held for trial in Hughs' death.

April 11: Leon Blackwell, 19, of Greylock Street near Kingsessing Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, was shot and killed while he sat outside on a park bench with two friends at the Kingsessing Recreation Center, 50th Street and Kingsessing Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. Police said a 16-year-old boy walked up to Blackwell and fired four shots from a handgun before fleeing. Blackwell left behind a 2-year-old daughter.

April 22: Two teenagers were stabbed after an argument at the Moss Recreation Center on Van Kirk Street near Torresdale Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. Police said a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in the arm and a 19-year-old man suffered a lacerated liver during a carnival.

A 22-year-old man and his 18-year-old brother were arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and related offenses.

June 26: Four people were wounded, one fatally, when a car pulled up and the driver started firing away at people gathered at the Olney Recreation Center, A Street near Spencer Street in Olney.

When the smoke cleared, Freeman Lambeck, 27, a 17-year-old man, and a 21-year-old man all lay wounded on the pavement. Lambeck later died at Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Aug. 15: Jamile Collins, 17, of 23rd and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia, was shot and killed at the Athletic Rec Center, 26th and Jefferson Streets in North Philadelphia. Three males - ages 24, 21 and 17 - were treated for wounds from the shooting.

Sept. 24: Mehkee Gatewood, 18 months old, was shot twice while playing at the E.R. Tustin Playground near 60th Street and Columbia Avenue in West Philadelphia. A friend of Gatewood's father, Carl Wallace, 31, was wounded. Investigators said Wallace had been the intended target.

Minutes before the bullets started flying, Wallace had been seen arguing with an unidentified man who then produced a silver handgun and started firing.

Police issued a warrant for the arrest of 21-year-old Andrew Poole in the shooting. Poole is believed to reside on 61st Street near Chester Avenue. Poole is charged with two counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault and other firearm offenses.

Poole remained at large last night, police said, while Mehkee Gatewood recovers at home. *
 
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Phila. Homcide Rate Slows Below Last Year's

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - October 19, 2007 - The homicide rate in Philadelphia has slowed in recent months and police say the death toll was at 320 by midnight Wednesday.

For a change, that was one less than the number on the same date last year.

Homicides have run about five percent above last year's level for much of the year, and police say they don't know the reason for the change.

Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson says 320 families devastated by homicide is still too many. Mayor John Street's spokesman, Joe Grace, says adding about 200 police this year has helped reduce crime.
 
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It didn't slow down for long.

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Three Philadelphia Shootings Leave Two Dead

By: Alan Miceli

FELTONVILLE - October 25, 2007 - Three late-night shootings in Philadelphia have left two people dead.

Around 9:30 Wednesday night, someone shot a 45 year-old man inside a house in the 5200 block of Penway Street in the Feltonville section of the city. That man died from a bullet wound to the abdomen.

About a half hour later a man in his 50's was shot just a few blocks away from the first shooting, on the 5200 block of Montour Street in the Olney section of the city.

He was taken to the hospital with a bullet wound to the head. There's no word yet on his condition.

The third shooting happened around 11 o'clock on Wednesday night in the Frankford section of the city.

The victim was gunned down near the corner of Pratt and Dittman streets. The man died in the street.

So far, police have not made any arrests, and have not indicated motives for the crimes.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

The Bobster said:
It didn't slow down for long.
Click to expand...

From some Jew at FOXNews

Cops in Philadelphia Targets of Gunmen

In Philadelphia, gun violence has reached near-epidemic levels. People are getting shot and killed at a pace not seen in years. On average, one person is dying by bullet every single day.

Police are being targeted, too. Many have been shot at, and in the past seven weeks, six officers have been hit … all in the line of duty. One was even killed. He responded to a call at a donut shop, not knowing the disturbed person inside was armed and ready to fire. The officer had his weapon unholstered and at his side when he walked through the front door, and the would-be robber became an assassin, putting a bullet in the 54-year-old policeman's head.

The suspect was caught the next day, the same day Officer Charles Cassidy died.

I've been to Philly to cover many of the recent shootings, including the murders of two retired cops, who were working as armored car guards and were shot at close range by a career criminal looking for a big score.

Every time we go to Philadelphia we wind up at police headquarters and I find the soon-to-be-retired police commissioner Sylvester Johnson wearily answering the same questions, seemingly powerless to do much to stop the violence.

They haven't given up, of course. The department has special teams of highly trained veterans targeting high crime areas with increased patrols and aggressive stops and searches designed to limit or discourage drug and gang activity and to keep corners clear.

They've reached out to community and church leaders, launching campaigns to get more civilians involved in keeping neighborhoods safe.

Arrests and seizures are at an all-time high, but Johnson knows he can't arrest his way out of the problem, and he can't talk the criminals out of stealing or dealing or robbing or killing either.

He says there are simply too many illegal handguns on the street, and too many troubled kids with severely limited resources and opportunities who see few options. Johnson wants federal help; programs to help the young and the poor find a better future. He added that tougher gun laws are needed to make it far more difficult to buy a pistol on the street, especially for the16-year-old recently arrested for allegedly shooting two undercover narcotics cops. It was a .357 Magnum. He allegedly opened fire out the ground floor window of a crack house, hitting one cop in the hip and the other in the leg as they tried to use a battering ram to break down the door.

He's 16, with a prior record who was shooting at cops, apparently feeling he had nothing to lose.

"Homeland Security is important," the Commissioner likes to say, "but so is Hometown Security."
 
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Philly, Camden Among U.S.'s Most Dangerous Cities

By DAVID N. GOODMAN Associated Press Writer

DETROIT (AP) - November 18, 2007 - In another blow to the Motor City's tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a private research group's controversial analysis, released Sunday, of annual FBI crime statistics.

The study drew harsh criticism even before it came out. The American Society of Criminology launched a pre-emptive strike Friday, issuing a statement attacking it as "an irresponsible misuse" of crime data.

The 14th annual "City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America" was published by CQ Press, a unit of Congressional Quarterly Inc. It is based on the FBI's Sept. 24 crime statistics report.

The report looked at 378 cities with at least 75,000 people based on per-capita rates for homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. Each crime category was considered separately and weighted based on its seriousness, CQ Press said.

Last year's crime leader, St. Louis, fell to No. 2. Another Michigan city, Flint, ranked third, followed by Oakland Calif.; Camden, N.J.; Birmingham, Ala.; North Charleston, S.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Richmond, Calif.; and Cleveland. The only other New Jersey community on the most dangerous list was Newark, which ranked 20th.

In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia was ranked 21st on the list, Reading 32nd, Pittsburgh 67th, Allentown 68th, Erie 216th and Upper Darby Township in Delaware County 283rd.

The study ranked Mission Viejo, Calif., as the safest U.S. city, followed by Clarkstown, N.Y.; Brick Township, N.J.; Amherst, N.Y.; and Sugar Land, Texas. The only other New Jersey town on the safest list was Toms River Township, which ranked ninth.

CQ Press spokesman Ben Krasney said details of the weighting system were proprietary. It was compiled by Kathleen O'Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan, whose Morgan Quitno Press published it until its acquisition by CQ Press.

The study assigns a crime score to each city, with zero representing the national average. Detroit got a score of 407, while St. Louis followed at 406. The score for Mission Viejo, in affluent Orange County, was minus 82.

Detroit was pegged the nation's murder capital in the 1980s and has lost nearly 1 million people since 1950, according to the Census Bureau. Downtown sports stadiums and corporate headquarters - along with the redevelopment of the riverfront of this city of 919,000 - have slowed but not reversed the decline. Officials have said crime reports don't help.

Detroit Deputy Police Chief James Tate had no immediate comment on the report. But the mayor of 30th-ranked Rochester, N.Y. - an ex-police chief himself - said the study's authors should consider the harm that the report causes.

"What I take exception to is the use of these statistics and the damage they inflict on a number of these cities," said Mayor Robert Duffy, chairman of the Criminal and Social Justice Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The rankings "do groundless harm to many communities," said Michael Tonry, president of the American Society of Criminology.

"They also work against a key goal of our society, which is a better understanding of crime-related issues by both scientists and the public," Tonry said.

Critics also complain that numbers don't tell the whole story because of differences among cities.

"You're not comparing apples and oranges; you're comparing watermelons and grapes," said Rob Casey, who heads the FBI section that puts out the Uniform Crime Report that provides the data for the Quitno report.

The FBI posted a statement on its Web site criticizing such use of its statistics.

"These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region," the FBI said. "Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents."

Doug Goldenberg-Hart, acquisitions editor at CQ Press, said that the rankings are imperfect, but that the numbers are straightforward. Cities at the top of the list would not be there unless they ranked poorly in all six crime categories, he said.

"The idea that people oppose it, it's kind of blaming the messenger," Goldenberg-Hart said. "It's not coming to terms with the idea that crime is a persistent problem in our society."

The report "helps concerned Americans learn how their communities fare in the fight against crime," CQ Press said in a statement. "The first step in making our cities and states safer is to understand the true magnitude of their crime problems. This will only be achieved through straightforward data that all of us can use and understand."

The study excluded Chicago, Minneapolis, and other Illinois and Minnesota cities because of incomplete data.
 
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Philadelphia's Men Want To Make It Safer

POSTED: 10:58 am EST November 24, 2007
UPDATED: 11:38 am EST November 24, 2007

PHILADELPHIA -- The first phase of a massive anti-crime effort is underway Saturday in parts of Philadelphia, where about 200 members of the organization "10,000 Men: A Call to Action" will patrol the streets of some of the toughest neighborhoods of the city in an effort to deter crime and reduce gun violence in the city.

The men will be dressed in black as they go door-to-door introducing themselves to the people they will be protecting. The first neighborhood the group will focus on is near the 2600 block of Morris Street. The patrol is part of a four-day training exercise for the group called “Vanguard.”���”���

The idea was the brainchild of Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson. So far, more than 360 people have been murdered in the city this year. The rate is almost as high as last year's, which was the worst in nearly a decade.
 
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One Dead In Double Shooting

POSTED: 7:35 am EST December 4, 2007
UPDATED: 7:50 am EST December 4, 2007

Police said one person was killed in a double shooting in Philadelphia early Tuesday morning.

Authorities said the unidentified victim was pronounced just after midnight early Tuesday West Philadelphia. He was shot several times at 40th and Green streets.

The slaying marked the city's 370th homicide of the year.

Police did not say if they arrested anyone in connection to the shooting.

The second shooting victim was hospitalized, but his coondition was not immediately available.
 
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Honer stoodint found naked with throat slashed

Teen Brutally Murdered; Family Wants Answers

Questions remain about the brutal murder of a 15-year-old student from Bartram High School.

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Antonio Clarke's throat was slit, his body wrapped in plastic, then dumped on a loading dock. His family wants answers.

"We wanna know why."

Belinda Willis can't understand why someone would brutally murder her 15-year-old grandson Antonio Clarke.

"He was only 15. He didn't even begin to live his life," Willis said.

"I'm just trying to find out who did it and why it happened to him. He was a good kid," Marie Clarke, the victim's mother, said.

Willis and the teen's mom say Antonio, who they lovingly called 'Q' for his middle name Quinton, always cared for his two sisters. He was a sophomore at nearby Bartram High. He worked at a community center and always made everyone laugh.

"He always kept you laughing, that's the beautiful part about him, he had a great personality," Willis said.

Veteran homicide detectives say the way Clarke died was gruesome.

"The victim was stabbed repeatedly, multiple times about the chest and back, he also had a large cut to his throat. A pretty nasty and violent crime," said Homicide Unit Captain Mike Costello.

The teenager's body was also wrapped in plastic. His head and feet were covered with plastic bags and duct tape. Some say he may have been tortured.

"We're focusing on the victim in this case in an attempt to look at his past, his associates any interactions he might have had," Costello said.

Homicide detectives say Clarke had no criminal record and no run ins with the law. They've run down numerous leads, but still no break in the case.

"It's pretty much a mystery, we generally have some theories we might not go public with, but we're running out of those in this case," Costello added.

Meanwhile, the teen's family is preparing for his funeral this Saturday. They are grieving, demanding justice and asking someone to step forward with information on Antonio's killers.

"If you know anything please call the detectives so we can find out what happened to my grandson cause he didn't deserve to die like that," Willis asked.

Clarke is the third Bartram student killed in recent months. Police are checking to see if the murder was gang related.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

As the Philly's homicide rate skyrockets, what does the Philadelphia City Council do? They respond by making "racist" symbols illegal.

http://www.nbc10.com/newsarchive/14786108/detail.html


NBC10.com
City Council May Take Major Step Against Hate, Intimidation

POSTED: 9:54 pm EST December 5, 2007
UPDATED: 10:11 pm EST December 5, 2007
A noose is one of the most vile symbols of hatred to African-Americans. Now, some want to make racist symbols like the noose a hate crime even if there is no violence involved.

The city of Philadelphia may take a major step against hate and intimidation soon.

Two months ago, the NBC 10 Investigators told you about this noose:

"He shook it at me and said that he wanted to hang someone," said construction worker Paul Solomon.

He said he was terrified when a white co-worker shook it in his face at the Comcast construction site.

Wednesday, the alleged victim testified before city council, saying he has not been called back to work since complaining about the incident.

The city is considering a law making these types of racist symbols illegal.

"The mere nature of a person having a cross burned, or having a Swastika or having a noose targeted at an individual should be punishable by law, and that's what we're attempting to do," said Philadelphia City Council Majority Whip Darrell Clarke.

Council officials said they hope to pass the law early next year.

Clarke said if the law is passed, he wants violators to pay a $1,900 fine or spend up to 90 days in jail, NBC 10's Vince DeMentri reported.

What can one expect from a city run by niggers? :african:
 
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