On violent crime, Philadelphians deserve better | News, Sports, Jobs

As 2022 drew to a close, the report from The Center Square’s Anthony Hennen was heart-wrenching.

Five hundred and fourteen people were murdered in Philadelphia over the preceding year.

It is the second year in a row murders in Philadelphia have surpassed 500.

“My heart breaks for our city and the countless people and communities impacted,” one candidate for mayor told Hennen, in a report published in Monday’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

The increase in violent crimes is why the state House has taken an unprecedented step in impeaching Philadelphia County District Attorney Larry Krasner — murders have increased 46% during his tenure.

While Krasner’s office is deservedly at the center of outrage and frustration the public feels for an inexcusable situation, he is not solely to blame. The city government and the leadership of its police department is clearly struggling to implement the solutions that Philadelphians deserve.

We hope in the coming year, the city is able to commit the resources to identifying, arresting and prosecuting violent offenders. We hope our state government is able to address violent crime as well. The time, we believe, has come for tougher sentencing. For better funded and better staffed probation and parole offices to more quickly catch recidivists. For investigations and prosecutions for witnesses who refuse to cooperate and certainly for accomplices who threaten and terrorize those brave enough to cooperate.

The time has come, not for experiments and theories, not for grandiose and frankly pompous assumptions that our criminal justice system is so tainted that only unproven reforms should be on the proverbial table, but for remembering who the true victims are — the lives lost. The grieving families.

The time has come to deliver them justice.

We believe the people of Philadelphia see the urgent need for such measures. We hope the leadership of Philadelphia, rather than concern itself with hair-splitting and pleas to understand the “nuances” and “complexities” of the issue, can recognize the need to take bold action.