Does Philadelphia Need Krasner’s New Prolific Gun Offenders Unit?

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on the Philadelphia District Attorney’s new Prolific Gun Offenders Unit.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:

Paul Davis: Does Philadelphia need Krasner’s new Prolific Gun Offenders unit? (broadandliberty.com)

Last month the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced the launch of a new prosecution entity, the Prolific Gun Offenders Unit. According to the DA’s office, the unit will focus on adults and juveniles who repeatedly and illegally possess firearms in the city of Philadelphia. 

Since the April 15th announcement, the DA’s office has not offered any updates on the unit or any Violation of Uniform Firearms Act (VUFA) prosecutions coming from the unit.

“The Prolific Gun Offenders Unit will prosecute the following gun offenses: Felon in Possession of a Firearm (VUFA 6105); Straw Purchases (VUFA 6111); Ghost Guns, Juveniles in Possession of Firearms (VUFA (6110.1); individuals who are arrested and charged with the manufacturing and distribution of polymer firearms, also known as ‘ghost guns,” the DA’s office announced on April 15th. “The Prolific Gun Offenders Unit will also utilize criminal intelligence gathering in collaboration with law enforcement and the Gun Violence Task Force to ascertain whether those arrested are actively involved with street groups who commit violence in Philadelphia.”

The DA’s office stated that assistant district attorneys assigned to the Prolific Gun Offenders Unit will also handle bail revocation hearings and will work closely with the DA’s Charging Unit to appeal low cash bail rulings by Philadelphia Bail Commissioners for those who pose a danger to the community.

“I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to our partners in Philadelphia City Council for securing the funding to make this new initiative a reality,” said Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner. “I’m confident that under the leadership of Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Palmer, the Prolific Gun Offender Unit will vigorously and appropriately prosecute and convict the relatively small number of people who pose a significant threat to public safety in our city.”

Jeffery Palmer, the supervisor of the new unit, added, “We believe the Prolific Gun Offenders Unit will have a significant impact on violent crime and gun possession in Philadelphia. Through my work as assistant supervisor of the Gun Violence Task Force and Homicide and Non-Fatal Shootings Unit, I’m very familiar with the danger that illegal firearms pose to everyone in our city. The Prolific Gun Offender Unit will focus on the small percentage of people who pose a large risk to the safety and well-being of the wonderful people of Philadelphia.”

When I heard about the DA’s new unit, my first thought was how does one become a “prolific” gun offender in the first place? Shouldn’t these repeat offenders already be serving time in prison for illegal gun offensives?

Could it be that the prolific gun offenders are walking the street and committing more illegal gun crimes because Krasner and company did not properly prosecute them after their earlier arrests for gun offensives? 

Did Larry Krasner, known as “Let ‘Em Loose Larry” by cops and crooks alike, decide not to prosecute the illegal gun offenders or plea bargain the charges down to minor offenses? 

I reached out to retired Philadelphia Police Sergeant Gary Capuano and asked him what he thought of the new DA unit.  

“I don’t believe anyone defined what will be considered ‘prolific,’” the veteran Philly cop said. ‘Two arrests for illegal firearms? Three? Four? Five? Why does the city need another unit to do what has already been done for years? The Gun Violence Task Force is an example. There is also a program called GVI (Group Violence Intervention). 

“Philly Police continue to make record number arrests for illegal firearms, but the conviction rate of the District Attorney’s Office is low,” Capuano noted. “Some arrests for VUFA offensives have charges declined by the District Attorney’s Charging Unit, and the defendant is released, walking away free before the case even makes its way in front of a judge!” 

Capuno said that the reason for the low conviction rates may be because of the young, inexperienced assistant district attorneys Krasner hired, as well as the defendants being entered into diversionary programs rather than being fully prosecuted in court. 

“Isn’t establishing another unit to focus its efforts on prosecuting gun offenders admitting to the fact that the District Attorney’s Office has been failing the citizens of Philadelphia? It appears on the surface that the police are still doing their job. Police are taking illegal guns out of the hands of offenders in record numbers in spite of interference from politics and the lack of support from the top down,” Capuno said.

So, is the new unit a needless duplication of existing DA prosecutors and programs? Is the creation of the new unit simply a political ploy to make Larry Krasner appear to be tackling gun violence in Philadelphia? 

I’ll be curious to see the District Attorney’s future statistics from the Prolific Gun Offenders Unit.    

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.

My Philadelphia Weekly 'Crime Beat' Column On Mike Chitwood On Homicide And Gun Violence

Philadelphia Weekly ran my Crime Beat column on Mike Chitwood and his views on homicide and gun violence.

You can read the column below:

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine Q&A with Mike Chitwood via the below link: 

Paul Davis On Crime: My Q&A With Former Police Chief Mike Chitwood 

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.

Philadelphia Looks To Crack Down On Gun Violence With Comprehensive New Program

Veteran Fox 29 crime reporter Dave Schratwieser offers a piece on how the Philadelphia Police is cracking down on crime and gun violence.

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Violence has rocked our nation, and here in Philadelphia, we are no stranger to gun violence.

Shootings continue to shake up Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. Fox 29’s Dave Schratwieser took a closer look at how police are working to put those gunmen behind bars.

Whether it's a drive-by shooting in Hunting Park, a gunman with an assault weapon firing into a home, or a gunman wildly firing a gun into a house in Southwest Philadelphia, gunfire can terrify an entire neighborhood. It can also leave the intended targets and innocent victims wounded or even dead.

Philadelphia Police say even those shootings are currently down 7% this year, they've now put in place a comprehensive new gun violence program aimed at reducing those numbers even more and putting the gunmen behind bars.

 “Our top priority is to drive down violent crime, we're having some success at it, but we can never be satisfied until you're at zero,” Deputy Commissioner Joseph Sullivan (seen in the below photo) explained.

Deputy Commissioner Sullivan pointed to the murder of 38-year-old Gerard Grandzol as a tragic, but recent example of how police resources with a laser focus can quickly put violent criminals in jail.

“You can see that it resulted in those two individuals being identified and taken into custody in an incredibly short period of time,” Sullivan said.

In the Grandzol murder, two brothers, Maurice and Marvin Roberts, were locked up within 48 hours.

The speedy arrest was thanks in part to a trail of surveillance video recovered from the shooting scene, the accused killers getaway route, and the SEPTA train they used to escape. It was video, intelligence information and the use of cutting edge facial recognition software that helped identify the Roberts brothers and solidify the case against them, leading to murder charges.

“All of that is critically important, but at the end of the day it's good old fashion police work that brings the job in,” Sullivan added.

Police are also using intelligence information to identify suspects, gang members and other violent criminals near shooting scenes.

They’re pouring resources into so-called hot spots to deter more gun violence. They use foot patrols, highly versatile bike officers, and tactical units such as highway patrol to squash retaliation shootings and prevent more violence.

“We're stopping less than half the number of people that we stopped three years ago, yet part one crime, violent crime, property crime, is down in Philadelphia. I think that speaks a lot to our precision policing strategy,” Sullivan explained.

You can read the rest of the piece and watch the video clip via the below link:

http://www.fox29.com/news/local-news/philadelphia-looks-to-crack-down-on-gun-violence-with-comprehensive-new-program 

Note: I interviewed Joseph Sullivan for Counterterrorism magazine when he was a chief inspector and head of the Homeland Security Bureau.

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/05/a-look-at-philadelphia-police.html 

Targeting South Philly's Top Criminals

Mike Newall at the Philadelphia Inquirer offers an interesting piece on law enforcement efforts to curb gun violence in South Philadelphia.

The young men had been summoned to the ornate room in City Hall because police had determined that they were the ones most likely to shoot or be shot.

After months of intelligence huddles, police and prosecutors had identified the 45 South Philadelphia corner boys who shuffled into the courtroom that spring morning as "impact players" - possible triggermen - in violent street crews.

Flanking the lectern were neighbors, outreach workers, and city and federal law enforcement officials, including Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey and District Attorney Seth Williams.
They had rehearsed their message as part of a new strategy they call Focused Deterrence, which combats gang gun violence through outreach and targeted enforcement.

They did not want them to die, they told the group. They did not want to send them to jail. They wanted to help.

But if the men or any of their friends squeezed a trigger, their entire crew would experience the weight of the law like never before. The whole group would pay. No matter who pulled the trigger.
Cops would swarm, they were warned. And there would be stiffer jail sentences, higher bails, the revisiting of stalled cases, stricter probation, and parole enforcement, and even crackdowns on child-support failings, welfare fraud, and utility thefts.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131103_Targeting_South_Philly_s_top_criminals.html

Note: I live in South Philadelphia, but my area of South Philly is mostly free of gun violence and violent drug gangs, although we do see an occasional organized crime murder.

But I've gone out on patrol with the Philadelphia Police and I've seen the South Philly neighborhoods and other neighborhoods in the city that are plagued by drugs, drug gangs, violence and poverty. I hope this program has continued success.       

Philadelphia Mayor, Police Commissioner Defend Police Amid Rash Of Shootings

Mark Faziollah at the Philadelphia Inquirer offers a piece on the response of city officials to police shootings in Philadelphia.

Following a rash of fatal shootings by police, Mayor Nutter and Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey staunchly defended the department Friday and said officers were facing an enormous level of violence.

During a news conference at Police Headquarters, Nutter warned that if an individual points a gun at police, there is "a high probability" that police will shoot that person.

"I expect our officers to protect themselves and the public," he told reporters after showing a video of a fatal shooting Wednesday night in the 4500 block of Wayne Avenue in Germantown.

You can read the rest of the piece and watch a video clip via the below link to Philly.com:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130601_Nutter__Ramsey_defend_police_amid_rash_of_shootings.html

Note: The above photo of Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey was provided by the Philadelphia Police Department.