http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news...in_Phila_.html

I'm starting to really despise this city. For all hoopla about Nutter, there hasn't been any real discernible change over the past two months. The murder rate has barely changed. I'm sick of tired of waking up every morning and reading nothing but crime articles.

That HAS to be some sort of US record. I'm giving it until about noon before the national news picks it up.

Maybe Nutter needs to sign another crime emergency declaration. One was clearly not enough.

I thought it was 6, not 7, but what ever, and oh...:

http://malcolmxpark.org/?cat=14

As of 11:59 yesterday, there have been 35 murders in Philadelphia in 2008. That’s compared with 43 on that date in 2006 (an 18% decline) and 50 in 2007 (a 30% decline). Still 35 too many…


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Philadelphia’s Murder Rate as of January 31st, 2008

February 1, 2008 at 11:19 am · Filed under Crime, News and Politics, Philadelphia's murder rate
On Wednesday, new police chief Charles Ramsey announced that it was his and mayor Michael Nutter’s goal to cut the murder rate in Philadelphia by 25% during this calendar year. Based on the numbers from January, they are well on their way:

There were seven fewer murders in January of 2008 than last year and four fewer than the year before. That constitutes a nearly 22% drop for the month over 2007. Here’s the graph we’ll be looking at throughout the year. The bars are left-to-right chronological: Purple is 2006, red is 2007, and cream is 2008. (Click for full size.) Suggestions for additional data or presentation methods are welcome.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-fkSYDtUY

"Censorship is free advertising by the government"--Federico Fellini

"Do you mind if I smoke while you eat?"

Hey, at least we're Number 1 at something!

For serious, though, I think it's too soon to pass full judgment on Nutter. The roots of violence in the city are deep, and there's no easy solution. It has to be fought on multiple fronts, not just police work.

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[I][FONT=Helvetica][SIZE=-1][COLOR=#000000]"Some people, well, if they don't like Scientology, well, then, f**k you. Really. F**k you. Period."

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True to form, Foodie, true to form. Where were you on Sunday when the thread came up on artists moving to the City because of the cultural scene here?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-fkSYDtUY

"Censorship is free advertising by the government"--Federico Fellini

"Do you mind if I smoke while you eat?"

How is six dead in 8 hours any worse than some nut job letting loose with guns in a school setting and 8-10 dead, and another 6 shot and wounded?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-fkSYDtUY

"Censorship is free advertising by the government"--Federico Fellini

"Do you mind if I smoke while you eat?"

Those numbers are for January. That's too early to tell any difference. What are the latest numbers? The point is that the weather is cold and this crap is still going on. Imagine what is going to happen when the weather gets nice.

You can say that Nutter can't quickly change the homicide rate and the problems extend far beyond any one man, but the ENTIRE POINT OF HIS CANDIDACY centered on getting the murder rate down.

I know about a dozen people who have this city on a short leash and if there isn't a discernible change in the murder rate by spring, they are picking up and leaving.

Agree. Nutter's been mayor for all of 2 months - he's barely had time to name his team, much less impact crime rates. Ramsey will need at least a solid year to even begin to show results, longer to show results that are not statistical aberrations. I'm still expecting a high murder count this year because behavioral changes take so long to ripple through.

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No matter where you go, there you are. (b.banzai)

The TOTAL number was 35, as of yesterday morning. The overnight additions make it 41, still less than at the same point last year.

As for the people that have the City on a short leash, oh well, sorry to see them leave, but frankly, the homicides, as you see portrayed here, don't affect most of us.

Look closely at the activities. One looks like a domestic disturbance, since a woman was stabbed to death, and her boyfriend has already been arrested for it. A couple *look* random, but chances are, they really aren't. One of the incidences involves a car with two men shooting a man in another car, where there were three other people in the car who escaped! And most of these happened in the usual areas. Sorry, my sympathies, but...


As far as what can be expected from the Mayor. He isn't the one committing the crimes. We have a new Police Commissioner. There is a Crime Emergency. Things take time. Exercise the usual precautions that one should exercise *anywhere* and you should be fine. No one said that life came with guarantees.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-fkSYDtUY

"Censorship is free advertising by the government"--Federico Fellini

"Do you mind if I smoke while you eat?"

Then they might as well get out. If they really thought there were going to be huge changes in a deep rooted problem in three months, I have some condos to sell them in Vegas.

I'd say if the current administration able to cut the murder rate by 50% over 8 years, that'd be a resounding success, but it won't necessarily look shocking the first year and it won't prevent statistically anomalous 8 hour periods from occurring.

Also, what does the weather have to do with anything? It was the same thing last winter, and the rate didn't really drastically increase once it got warm. It hasn't been very cold much this winter anyway.

HG: If you want a more up-to-date murder counter, there's one on the PPD's home page. Some of the ones last night were after midnight, but unless there's 12 today, we're still below last year's pace.