Franklin Towne Charter High School and its Criminal Justice Department recently held their second annual Crime Prevention Symposium in recognition of National Youth Violence Prevention Week.
The symposium featured seven student-led presentations from students in the criminal justice program. The presentations showcased student research on Philadelphia-specific crime trends, the evaluation of existing crime prevention grants and initiatives and solutions developed by students that rival or even surpass current practices.
The symposium honors the memory of Isaiah Pagan, a Class of 2022 graduate who was killed in December 2023 in a shooting inside a mini-mart on the 5200 block of Oxford Ave.
Michael Murphy is the criminal justice teacher.
Students who made presentations were Josh Thevenin, Ly’ric Skipworth, Brody Smith and the teams of Kaelyn Everman/Sara Green, Dianne Aigbokhaevbo/Sophia Blaisdell, Lyriana Noel/Marlik Sullivan and Olivia McCormick/Makayla Martin.
Judges included Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, City Councilwoman Nina Ahmad, Holy Family criminal justice associate professor Patricia Griffin and representatives of the Temple University Department of Public Safety, Philadelphia Fire Department, the La Salle University Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Violence Prevention, the city Department of Parks and Recreation and the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia.
Brianna O’Donnell, CEO of Franklin Towne, said she was proud of the student-driven projects and the growth of the criminal justice program.
Bethel credited the students with getting to the root issues of crime.
“Job well done,” Ahmad told the students, adding that she was impressed with their empathy and content and presentation skills. ••
