XPost: phl.media, phl.announce, pa.politics   
   From: artclemons@aolSPAM.com   
      
   mcs wrote:   
      
   > and " we are heading in right direction. Murder up , violent crime up.   
   > arrests down and Street says overall we are heading in right   
   > direction? He is kidding! There is only one thing worse then having a   
   > problem, someone not owning up to it..No wonder violent criminals feel   
   > at home here, what the hell is going on Street.   
      
      
   Actually, the number of reported crimes is down, while murders are   
   apparently up in numbers.  Of course, when an economic downturn (read   
   that as the number of jobs available declines) the murder rate has   
   historically risen as eventually will other crimes.  Let's note that   
   during the Rizzo years that the crime rate mostly rose despite his get   
   tough attitude.  One other point, when the police began Operation   
   Sunrise, the DA's office in effect got rid of a lot of cases or   
   effectively chose not to prosecute.  The DA's office while relatively   
   large still can only effectively handle a limited number of cases.  The   
   old methods of patrolling don't reduce crime, neither does getting   
   tough.  Quite frankly Johnson is/was attempting to respond by putting   
   police where crimes occur in an effort to prevent future crimes.  The   
   downside is that people seeking to avoid arrest or detection will move   
   to where the police are not.   Murders are difficult to prevent, since   
   most of the time the victim and killer know each other, and murders get   
   committed in private.  The murder rate in cities nationwide is rising,   
   especially in the cities where the rates had declined drastically in   
   the 90's.  There are several different factors including that   
   Philadelphia and other cities are getting a lot of released prisoners   
   whose long sentences are up, and said prisoners have few job skills in   
   a declining job market.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)