The actions of local DA Larry Krasner suggest crime is still a major problem.
With the first quarter of 2024 in the books, mainstream media and polling organizations are straining themselves to find any glimmers of hope for President Biden’s re-election campaign by touting new statistics showing violent crime purportedly dropping in many major cities.
Philadelphia is among the cities heralded by outlets such as The Hill, where it is claimed there’s a 37% decrease in homicides compared to the same timeframe in 2023. Yet, while year-over-year murders have declined, they are still well above historical norms. The spike in homicides began shortly after prosecutor Larry Krasner was elected. Under his leadership, the city saw at least 400 murders four times. The highest number in the years before he took over as District Attorney was only 331, with an average of less than 293.
Research from Pew as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer echoed this sentiment. Despite murder numbers dropping three years in a row, it’s still more than 40% higher than the pre-Krasner average, and the homicide rate is even higher than dangerous crime-ridden Chicago.
Despite the narrative of increased safety and lower crime rates, the city has been forced to take unusual steps to cut the crime rate. Last year, the city council banned ski masks in public, citing the masks’ regular use during crime sprees. Justifying the ban, one city councilman said the City of Brotherly Love is “under siege” by criminals who cannot be identified and prosecuted because of their ski mask.
Even more recently, Krasner’s office has felt the need to create a new unit in the office dedicated to “adults and juveniles who repeatedly and illegally possess firearms” in the city. The threat is so serious that Krasner, who campaigned on and ultimately eliminated cash bail for “low level offenses”, is seeking to increase “bail requirements for those who keep coming back to courts on gun charges.”
Krasner is also targeting so-called “ghost guns”—a term used by opponents of Americans’ right to keep and bear arms—which liberal politicians claim are “untraceable” firearms that are increasingly being used in the commission of a crime.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation has disputed the mischaracterization of hobbyist firearms, noting the creation and possession of “undetectable firearms” is already illegal. NSSF also argues that if criminals are already breaking laws, new laws further restricting the Second Amendment will not stop them. Philadelphia ranked sixth in the nation for cities having lost population last year.
