PhillyCrime

In an article dated January 21, 2011 in the Philadelphia Inquirer, staff writer George Anastasia reported that federal authorities arrested more than 120 “mob figures” as officials in Philadelphia continue to gather evidence in an investigation of reputed local mob boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi and his top associates.The Inquirer pointed out that “senseless slayings, violent extortions, arson, labor racketeering, and drug dealing were outlined in a series of indictments that were unsealed as law enforcement agents fanned out across four states” and Italy. U.S. Attorney General Eric holder commented that “this is one of the largest single-day operations against the Mafia in the FBI’s history, both in terms of the number of defendants arrested and charged and the scope of the criminal activity that is alleged.”In addition to “Uncle Joe” some other nicknames that became revealed during the indictment and arrests were Baby Shanks, Nerves, Jimmy Gooch, JoJo, Bobby Glasses, The Professor, Jimmy carwash,, Jack the Whack, Jello, Burger, Junior Lollipops, Much, Fat Dennis, Lumpy, and Fatty. We applaud the legal team that had to secure the indictment and keep all of those names straight.The Times Herald (Norriston and Montgomery County) had a good observation when writing about the arrests and pointing out that “for an organization that is regularly declared dead, the Mafia has proved surprisingly resilient. It has to be the nicknames. They’re just too good to lose.”Let’s just hope that Jello and Lumpy don’t end up sharing a cell. The mere thought of Lumpy Jello could send one to the brink.

It’s been a while since the Fresh Prince (Will Smith) could call Philadelphia the City of Brotherly Love. In 2007, the crime rates in Philly rose so high, the city earned itself a new nickname’Killadelphia’. In 2007, the murder rate in the city was more than a murder a day. Even more shocking, teenagers and young adults were the main source of the killings. Fortunately, crime rates have decreased in magnitude in the past three years, but not enough to boast about. The city still has a low crime index of 12; meaning 88 of cities in the US are safer than Philly. If you break the city down into regions, some areas are safer than others; the safest being Henry Avenue and Wissahickon Dr with a crime index of 86 (100 is safest) and the most dangerous being along Drexel U and Walnut Street where the crime index is a shockingly dangerous low of 0 (zero)–meaning this is the most unsafe area in the country. Annually, a total of 20,902 violent crimes and 60,931 property crimes were committed in Philly. Over 300 of the violent crimes were cold blooded murder, more than 1,000 were rape crimes, and the rest were combined robbery and assaults. In 2008, the city saw the violent crime rate drop an overall 3. Some areas unfortunately increased 3-12.3, but others managed to decrease their violent crime rate by 26.9. continue reading…

While many aspects of Philadelphia crime continue to get worse, there are some major areas of improvement that deserve recognition. Between 2007 and 2008, the murder rate dropped 15, reaching its lowest point since the 1960s. Even more impressive, major crimethe truly horrible stuffis at its lowest level since the 1970s. Instead of assuming criminals are choosing to become moral citizens on their own, we should thank the local police and higher law enforcement officials for this much needed decline in crime.The man behind the better policing efforts is Mayor Michael Nutter. Since his election in 2008, he has made crime reduction his main priority along with the new police commissioner Charles Ramsey. Their plan of action was to target the districts with the highest crime rates and fill them with additional officers. Sadly, people continue to murder each despite the increased police offers in town. Most of the murders are over drugs, domestic violence, or other disputes usually involving alcohol. continue reading…