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A tale of two Philadelphias: causes and solutions
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Philadelphia cop death rate not the worst
Some would argue that one police officer homicide is one too many. The fact that Philadelphia has had six in two years while unusual does not rank Philadelphia as the worst in the nation. In 2007, 181 police officers in the United States died in the line of duty. The states with the most death were as follows: Texas, 13, North Carolina, 8, Florida, 6, New York, 6, Georgia, 5 and South Carolina, 5. 2008 saw a drastic drop in the number of police killed: down to 140. There is hope.
Causes and solutions
Metropolitan Career Center is a Center City non profit located on Broad Street next to the private club, The Union League. It is an interesting juxtaposition to have a facility like the Union League that represents the power elite of Philadelphia within shouting distance of a non profit that has earned a reputation for turning around troubled lives. Metropolitan Career Center has been in business for almost 35 years and during that time has granted certificates of completion and degrees to over16, 000 Philadelphians. For the proponents of practical solutions, that’s 16,000 citizens who are less likely to resort to crime to earn a living
MCC, as it is referred to in Philadelphia, is a workforce development non profit that trains students in basic office administration with a specialty in training customer service representatives, direct care workers and support staff. The school also offers an associates degree in Information Technology. Many of the students who attend MCC come from some of the most economically depressed areas of the city. Coincidentally, many of the students who attend the school have had serious brushes with the law. Karen Burgess, the CEO of MCC was asked to weigh in on the issue of the number of police officers killed in Philadelphia.
“Its not just police officers that are being killed, every day citizens are being killed at an alarming rate also”, said Burgess.
When asked what she believed were some of the causes of this type of violence, Burges responded this way: “People feel hopeless. They believe that have no options and that there is no value to their lives. . Many of these people commit crimes because they feel hopeless in their efforts to support themselves and their families. At MCC we give our students opportunities to better themselves by providing them with a legitimate means to making a living.”
Burgess went on to state that about 25% of MCC students are ex-offenders which make the job of placing these students in employment difficult.
“It is difficult to place people in jobs with criminal background, but not impossible. We do it every day but it is hard work. It’s easier to help before they get into the system. There are successes that we have seen at MCC…not 100% but we have seen some success. Also you have to want to change…there are employers who are willing to accept people with less than perfect backgrounds” Said Burgess.
Burgess said that is not uncommon for MCC students who are ex-offenders to succeed in their programs. “Success” for these ex-offenders is defined as “completing the program, getting a job, keeping a job and staying out of the criminal justice system”.
One of the most difficult hurdles these students have to overcome is the potentially negative influences of their neighborhood friends and family. “Many of our students are coming from situations where they don’t see much hope. So when they leave MCC, they are often returning to dire conditions. The most pressing thing that we have to do is to fill these people with enough hope to sustain them until they come back into the school the next day. Their neighborhoods are stark reminders of their plight and personal struggles-we teach them that they can overcome the powerful and dysfunctional aspects of their old habits and old neighborhoods” said Burgess. MCC graduates between 400 and 600 students per year.
The second person we interviewed is a life-time resident of Philadelphia who asked to us not to use her real name. Janet, as we will call her, is retired from a major corporation and is currently serving as a senior administrator in a Center City non profit. Jane believes that too many offenders are being released without the proper job and educational skills needed for rehabilitation.
“While people with felony convictions need another chance they also need jobs and skills. Learning these skills while incarcerated and finding a job when they are released from prison allows these people to have some dignity and respect for themselves”, said Janet.
"I believe too much money is spent on imprisoning people and not enough on providing education opportunities. She also feels that education and job training should be mandatory requirements for all prisoners. “If they don’t get the education, what are they going to do when they get out…go back to the same environment and repeat the same mistakes”, added Janet.
Janet does not think that race is a factor in these killings. “Perhaps under the Rizzo administration we saw some of that but not since that time.”
Janet also pointed out that Philadelphia has an over proliferation of hand guns and that there should be a total ban on all guns. "There are too many people with too many guns in this city" said Janet. "Until our local, state and federal representatives do something n about this, everybody who lives or works in the city is at risk.”
There seems to be a consensus that education and job training are the keys to eliminating violence in Philadelphia. People with jobs and hope are less likely to resort to violence and crime these unofficial opinions seem to suggest. So what are the elected officials in Philadelphia and the state doing to address this issue?
Plenty from the looks of it. In Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham and Police Chief Charles Ramsey are actively prosecuting crimes involving guns used through a “straw purchases.” A straw purchase is when a qualified citizen purchases a gun for a person who is disqualified, usually because of a prior felony conviction. If that gun is then used by the felon in the commission of a crime, the straw purchaser can be charged as an accomplice.
With the strong backing of Mayor Nutter, no less than five laws were proposed banning various types of firearms and limiting purchases of guns:
- The straw purchase bill
- A law on reporting stolen handguns
- A ban on certain assault weapons
- A law preventing persons under protective orders from purchasing guns
- A law preventing gun ownership from people who pose a risk to themselves or others
All but the straw purchase laws have been repealed or are in danger of being overturned. Most of the challenges have been sponsored by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Citizen groups have also joined the efforts albeit with some mixed results as evidenced by the 10,000 men group out of Philadelphia.
Perhaps President Obama sums it up in a way that makes sense for not only Philadelphians, but communities across the country:
“Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it. But if we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing - missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”
Amen.
Post Script: Philadelphia Officer John Pawlowski, 25, was shot and killed in the line of duty on February 14, 2009. A 357 magnum was recovered at the scene. The shooter was shot and apprehended.
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