PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Government and community leaders got together Thursday to discuss the “Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia” that will help inform Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker’s administration.
City Council Majority Leader Curtis Jones Jr. spearheaded the plan and report after a meeting with almost 150 stakeholders at St. Joseph’s University in September.
Jones presented the plan to Parker in a meeting at City Hall and told the crowd the plan has what the city needs to succeed.
“All of the ingredients that can be found in this book still need a good baker to make them come together,” Jones said.
Parker thanked Jones for “concrete, very methodically put together, proposed recommendations” and said they will help her administration as she puts together her action plan.
Want to hear the plans yourself? Watch the video above, or check it out on our YouTube channel.
“Philadelphians, they don’t want us to get together in a room and meet,” Parker said. She added that for people to notice change, “they should be able to see it, feel it and touch it where they live.”
What is actually in the Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia?
The full document has not yet been released online, but hard copies were given out to reporters. It contains over 140 recommendations, some of which are more simple and others will take funding and time.
“It is our hope that this document becomes a launching pad for an ongoing dialogue, which is happening before us,” Jones said.
This quick recap gives you an idea of how leaders are thinking about crime and public safety going forward into the next administration.
More investments in technology
City Council met with leaders in Trenton and Chester to hear more about their crime-fighting tactics and technology they use, including ShotSpotter, outgoing City Council President Darrell Clarke said.
ShotSpotter is a technology that can help police detect shootings as they occur and trace their location.
Philadelphia City Council has also expressed interest in expanding the use of drones for law enforcement.
“We know we’re not going to just simply be able to arrest our way out of the problem, and we have to make strategic investments to make sure we go in the right direction,” said Democratic state Rep. Morgan Cephas, who represents Overbrook, Wynnefield and West Philadelphia.
Reducing school-to-prison pipeline
Philadelphia has 48 ZIP codes, but 19 of them produce 90% of the inmates in facilities on State Road, Jones said.
Those ZIP codes also overlap with schools that have struggled and dealt with gun violence.
Kevin Bethel, who Parker named as the city’s next police commissioner, said arrests of students have declined over 90%. Bethel previously served as chief of school safety for the School District of Philadelphia since 2019.
Calls to hire more police officers, focus on “cultural competency”
At least one official called for hiring more police officers to help fight crime.
“We need more boots on the ground, police officers,” Jones said.
“Those officers should be culturally competent” and “speak the language” of their communities, Jones added. “So if you don’t know what whips, chips and kicks are, you need to go back to school.”
(Whips are cars, chips are money and kicks are sneakers.)
Earlier this year, a CBS Philadelphia report showed the Philadelphia Police Department’s headcount was more than 1,000 below the number the department was authorized to hire.
Looking for more safe corridors
Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street and Superintendent Tony Watlington said more funding is in the works to increase the number of routes covered on the Safe Path program.
Senate Democrats have proposed putting $50 million toward the program, Street said.
The program, which has also been referred to as “Safe Pathways” and “Safe Corridors,” beefs up security and police presence on students’ routes to school.
It’s currently in place in 23 areas but more funding would be needed to increase that number.
Philly crime lab
The city and state have both contributed funding for a new updated forensic lab that will help increase response time in labs, officials said.
The state kicked in $25 million and the city put up $50 million, Street said.
Third District Council member Jamie Gauthier said three proposals are in the final stages and one of the proposed sites is in her district.
It’s not clear where those sites are.
Jones said a larger lab would help get rape kits tested faster and help get breakthroughs in big cases. He referenced the recent identification of the Fairmount Park strangler as Elias Diaz, which came after DNA investigative work.
“You can’t increase the conviction rate without evidence,” Jones said.
Parker takes office next month
Parker and Jones were joined by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and several other elected officials, community leaders and members of the Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Defenders Association and community stakeholders.
Earlier this month, Parker introduced Philadelphia to her “intergovernmental roundtable” working with her before she takes office.
In the past week, the mayor-elect has named Tiffany W. Thurman as her chief of staff, Sinceré Harris as chief deputy mayor of intergovernmental affairs, sustainability and engagement, and Aren Platt as chief deputy mayor of planning and strategic initiatives.
On Wednesday, Parker announced Alba Martinez will be the commerce director and Renee Garcia will be city solicitor in her administration.
