Time to move forward
in crimefighting

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Pennsylvania House Speaker Dennis O’Brien is praising Mayor-elect Michael Nutter’s selection of Charles Ramsey as the next police commissioner.
O’Brien (R-169th dist.), who hosted a forum on crime and violence last week at Archbishop Ryan High School, noted that homicides declined and police responsiveness improved while Ramsey was chief of police in Washington, D.C.
"There is a new day and a new direction in the city of Philadelphia," the speaker said, repeating Nutter’s campaign mantra.
More than 150 people attended the Nov. 15 forum in Ryan’s auditorium. O’Brien was joined by Assistant District Attorneys John Delaney and Sarah Hart and 8th Police District community relations officer Steve Carr.
Delaney and Hart represented District Attorney Lynne Abraham, who was attending a retirement dinner for her longtime driver, police officer Tony Fullwood.
Earlier this year, the speaker held a series of discussions with experts in the city and state to develop violence-prevention strategies.
The forum gave O’Brien a chance to hear from constituents. There were all kinds of suggestions, from re-opening Holmesburg Prison to building a wall along the Mexican border to amputating the index finger of anyone who fires a gun illegally.
O’Brien, though, favors a systemic approach to crime. His four-pronged approach includes not only the criminal justice system, but a focus on the areas of education, behavioral health and community outreach.
The veteran lawmaker would like to see the community become more involved in ways ranging from showing up for jury duty to joining Town Watch to enrolling in the Civilian Police Academy.
Carr urged people in attendance to call the police with crime tips.
"Information is knowledge, and knowledge is power," he said.
Delaney, a 26-year veteran of the district attorney’s office who heads the trial division, encouraged citizens to be witnesses in criminal cases and identify suspects to authorities, even if no reward is offered.
"Communities will have as much crime as they tolerate," he said.
The speaker is eager to work with Ramsey and the next CEO of the School District of Philadelphia. He will involve successful agencies such as Self-Help Movement, a drug rehabilitation facility in Somerton, and CORA Services, which offers a variety of programs for children and families at its Fox Chase headquarters.
To cut down on recidivism rates, he wants to increase the number of classes in prisons dedicated to GED, anger management, jobs skills and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Legislatively, he plans to introduce a bill that would impose a mandatory sentence of 20 years on anyone who shoots at a police officer, whether or not the officer is struck.
This week, the House Judiciary Committee — which O’Brien chaired before becoming speaker in January — was expected to vote on bills that would allow municipalities to set their own gun laws and to limit handgun purchases to one a month.
In O’Brien’s opinion, there isn’t enough support to pass either measure. Indeed, the committee on Tuesday rejected the legislation.
Instead, he favors the hiring of more police officers and probation and parole officers. He’d also like to see Nutter create a position that would coordinate the efforts of the courts, the jails, the police department and the district attorney’s office.
"They have to be put under a public safety director," he said.
O’Brien supports Nutter’s emphasis on a stop-and-frisk policy to seize illegal weapons from felons. Delaney explained that the current law permits such searches for reasonable cause, adding that the mayor-elect is merely saying the police department is not aggressively using the tactic.
Carr was cautious to comment on the proposed policy, contending there probably needs to be a public education campaign before implementing it.
"It could be an effective tool," he said.
O’Brien believes there is too much emphasis on Philadelphia’s murder rate, which is on pace to again reach 400 this year. He pointed out that shootings are down 6 percent from a year ago, and that effective crime-fighting measures should continue in police districts.
Delaney pointed to a number of successful initiatives in the DA’s office, including the Gun Violence Task Force, which targets so-called "straw purchasers" — those people who buy guns and pass them on to felons. Also, the conviction rate for illegal firearms possession has increased in a special gun court.
And, he cited the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership, which provides resources in five high-crime police districts to people age 25 and younger who are most at risk of engaging in criminal activity or becoming victims of crime.
"We tell them, ‘We’d rather see you in prison than a cemetery,’ " he said.
As for the prison system, Philadelphia jails house more than 9,000 inmates, but many suspects avoid pre-trial detention because of a lack of beds.
To free up space, O’Brien wants all violent felons to serve sentences in state prisons, "where they belong." He recalls that a federal judge and the administration of then-Mayor Wilson Goode struck a deal two decades ago to relieve overcrowding by releasing hundreds of inmates, many of whom went on to commit other crimes.
"We do not want that to happen again," he said.
Hart, then known as Sarah Vandenbraak, was the assistant district attorney who argued against the release of prisoners. She described the release as an "absolute disaster" for public safety.
Since then, changes in state and federal law prohibit a single federal judge or a city from taking such drastic action.
"Prison caps are now a last-resort remedy," said Hart, who is back at the district attorney’s office after a stint as director of the National Institute of Justice. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com