Phrisky Philly (Philly Confidential)

Phrisky Philly

New York has boasted it, and so have we. Yet the Five Boroughs really kicks toches (that's some Yiddish) with it, but in Philly…not so much.
What jive is PC rambling about?
Stop and Frisk of course.

Political reporter Catherine Lucey wrote a lucid report on the controversial policing tactic explaining that Philadelphia police really have been doing it for years.

What nobody mentioned is that stop-and-frisk - in which police stop people suspected of criminal activity and pat them down for illegal weapons - is already used by police in Philadelphia.
"The idea of giving officers training to recognize [illegal] guns? That's already in place," said Lt. Fran Healy, a lawyer for the Police Department.
Last year, Philly cops stopped 132,765 pedestrians, according to department data. Some of those stops would have involved a pat-down or an arrest.
A rough analysis shows that Philadelphia averaged nine stops per 100 residents last year. New York City averaged six stops per 100, according to data released by the New York Police Department earlier this year.

Whoa.
Philly tallied more stops than NYC, but hoodlums here still have an insatiable obsession for inflicting pain?
PC always assumed that aggressive policing stymied the crime rate in New York. But now it seems that the PPD's policies are pretty tough as well. She is quite disappointed. Her excuse-bubble has popped.

Why can New Yorkers live in peace while Philadelphians walk around crippled with anxiety?

Oh yeah.
NYC is a world-class city complete with a healthy job market; decent public education; and a slew of social programs aimed at pulling the underclass to working class status.

Great. The bubble has returned.
Philadelphia's list of "why New Yorker will always be safer" has just doubled in size.

Posted on June 18, 2007 11:26 PM | Permalink

Comments (35)

deeney:

I made this comment here three weeks ago:

"Posted on May 24, 2007 22:53
deeney:

There's a sense amongst some people I've talked to out in the neighborhoods that making Stop and Frisk an official policy won't change much at street level. In other words, I've been told that the police kind of do this anyway and have for some time. I don't know how reliable that information is, but I thought it was an interesting read on the situation. If it's true than the expectations surrouding the kind of impact the policy will have should probably be lowered."

Strangely enough, I had to go into the page's google cache to find the comment because it was removed from the original post here for some reason.

Apparently I should stop posting blog comments and start writing more articles.

Posted by deeney | June 19, 2007 10:24 AM

Posted on June 19, 2007 10:24

KOKO:

I'M TIRED OF NEW YORKERS RUNNIN THERE MOUTHES NEW YORK HAS ONE THING ABOVE PHILLY: MORE PEOPLE AND THATS IT NY IS THE MOST OVERATED PLACE IN THE COUNTRY WORLD CLASS YEAH OK ONLY 3 PLACES IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE ITS OWN GENUINE FEELING VEGAS,NEW ORLEANS AND US U'LL NEVER BE AS GOOD OR TUFF A CITY THAN PHILLY YOU GUYS ARE A JOKE

Posted by KOKO | June 19, 2007 5:27 PM

Posted on June 19, 2007 17:27

mort crim:

Come on. When New York had sky-high crime rates, it's demos and "world-class" status weren't meaningfully different than they are now. Now, flip this mindless argument around. I'm sure Des Moines' murder rate is amazingly low. Is that more of a "world class" city than our own? This argument holds no water on many levels unless you're some idiot New Yorker who simply hates Philadelphia.

Policing is largely a management issue. Not policies like "stop-and-frisk", but tracking crime and putting more cops on the street at the times and places crimes are most likely to happen rather than when it's more convenient for the cop. And, making sure that a "stop-and-frisk" policy actually gets effectively implemented, which Police Commissioner Mumbles refuses to even comment on. All of this requires management discipline, which starts at the top.

The murder rate soared fairly quickly after Timoney left. But, for some PC reason I think we can all quickly figure out, nobody places blame on the current police commissioner and fires his ass. Instead, we jib-jab about how we're not a "world class" city, and that's why so many are getting killed. That defies logic and makes no sense, and avoids the obvious step which needs to be taken: firing the current commissioner and finding a qualified manager for that department--wherever in the country he may come from, or whatever his ethnic background may be.

Posted by mort crim | June 19, 2007 10:09 PM

Posted on June 19, 2007 22:09

random hero:

Great article,I thought all the philly press though frisking would save this city,Finally a voice of reason.Please continue to keep philadelphias mayors accountable for their 1 year band aid approaches that never help this city in the long run,Great article!!

Posted by random hero | June 20, 2007 7:29 PM

Posted on June 20, 2007 19:29

Anonymous:

Theres no better way to interact and get the community to trust and talk to the police than to stop and frisk them and put a blinkin police surveillance camera on there block.

Posted by Anonymous | June 20, 2007 7:44 PM

Posted on June 20, 2007 19:44

JOE SCHULTZ:

It doesnot matter if you pat down these thugs or not because when they get arrested with guns they go to Judge Leon Tuckers gun court and he just lets them go on some stupid technicality.

Posted by JOE SCHULTZ | June 21, 2007 1:52 PM

Posted on June 21, 2007 13:52

Paul Raynolds:

Hi Simone, hope all is well. As I've posted before, I'm not a fan of "stop & frisk" for a variety of reasons.

But, in comparison to NYC, one think not mentioned is the size of the Police Force. We literally have a small army that, for the most part, is very well managed. This, along with some of the other things mentioned, has a significant impact on crime.

Posted by Paul Raynolds | June 22, 2007 11:10 AM

Posted on June 22, 2007 11:10

Philly Resident:

To Joe Schultz:

Leon Tucker, technicality, letting people go? Please. He's not the gun court Judge any more (hasn't been for more than four months) but when he was he was over the top for the DA side. Ask most private lawyers in the CJC and they will agree.

Posted by Philly Resident | June 22, 2007 12:55 PM

Posted on June 22, 2007 12:55

Anonymous:

Deenys scared he might be subject to stop and frisked while scoring his oxy 80s,At least then you could sew ,Get money and have a good story to tell all your yuppi friends.

Posted by Anonymous | June 28, 2007 6:20 PM

Posted on June 28, 2007 18:20

jus' wonderin':

I'm not sure the 'if we stop and frisk enough people we might get lucky' approach is an effective technique. Wouldn't it be better to hire people who can investigate crime, hunt criminals, and solve cases based on real evidence?

Posted by jus' wonderin' | July 2, 2007 4:28 PM

Posted on July 2, 2007 16:28

NikkyBlond:

Excellent time. And nice site. Keep up a good work! :-))

Posted by NikkyBlond | November 2, 2008 5:55 PM

Posted on November 2, 2008 17:55

NikkyBlond:

Enjoyed your site very much! Thank you! Keep up a good work! :-))

Posted by NikkyBlond | November 5, 2008 4:21 AM

Posted on November 5, 2008 04:21

ThreeSome:

Excellent time. And nice site. Keep up a good work! :-))