Official Greater Philadelphia Area Crime Thread (Washington, Hawthorn: ice cream, banks, cruise)

[henrychen]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

Damn, thefts at Allens Lane and Greene? If that isn't safe, no part of Philly is. As someone who is looking to buy in the near future, gee, Ambler or Ardmore sure looks nice...


I think the only other area of town I'd live in is by the art museum. I looked at newer places a little further out, like Francisville, well, I am happy there is construction but its entirely charm free, no parking and not very safe. No thanks.

Damn, your attitude changed quick.

[henrychen]

Originally Posted by gnxblk01

Also, a lot of young guys are on drugs (dope) and they're either stealing catalytic converters, whole cars, or committing robberies to fund the drug habit.

Is that a problem in the African-American community? Young people on hard drugs?
It certainly is in the white community, a 24/7 problem of theft, burglary and sometimes violence to support their habits.
I thought the younger blacks who used drugs as mostly smoking weed and the ones who were committing crimes were only doing it to put money in their pockets.
I remember back in the '60s and '70s the black community having heroin addicts (which I thought were mainly young whites now) and in the '80s and '90s having a crack problem.
It's rare to see a young black strung out on Kensington Ave.

[ilovephilly79]

Originally Posted by henrychen

Is that a problem in the African-American community? Young people on hard drugs?
It certainly is in the white community, a 24/7 problem of theft, burglary and sometimes violence to support their habits.
I thought the younger blacks who used drugs as mostly smoking weed and the ones who were committing crimes were only doing it to put money in their pockets.

Consumption of drugs are definitely a bigger problem in the white community.

[selhars]

A person can use all the drugs they want as long as:
-- they don't commit crime -- or hurt or kill people
(alcoholics can drink all they want to -- as long as they don't drive and hurt someone)

I'll pay for rehab multiple times. Just don't commit any crimes -- especially violent crime.
If and when you do -- you've lost the chance to be in my good graces. Sorry.
Then I am willing to pay to lock you up for life, if necessary.

How many carjackings are we up to this year? Almost 100?
How are the highest elected officials in this city NOT seeing and addressing this as a dire emergency?

[person333]

Originally Posted by selhars

How many carjackings are we up to this year? Almost 100?
How are the highest elected officials in this city NOT seeing and addressing this as a dire emergency?

Outlaw knows it's a major problem. She held a press conference about it the other day. I'm sure Kenney knows the tax base will collapse if this keeps up, but does he have the spine to do anything? Who knows. Unlikely, in my view. Cindy Bass tweeted that people should "be careful." Funny. Being careful will not prevent you from being carjacked. Leadership needs to work to prevent carjackings in the first place, not give useless tips like "don't drive after dark" and "have eyes in the back of your head."

State Rep. Donna Bullock, who represents Fairmount, Brewerytown, and Strawberry Mansion, organized a neighborhood meeting over Zoom that was held on Thursday night to discuss the recent carjackings. The PPD sent a couple of spokespeople who said the PPD is working on it and has undercover cops in Fairmount, but is shorthanded. They blamed City Council's imposition of a residency requirement on PPD's difficulty recruiting. They also gave the usual "advice" (be conscious of your surroundings, walk in pairs, etc.). Onus is on us to have heads on a swivel, in other words. The DA's Office sent G. Lamar Stewart, who talked a lot but didn't answer questions. That's on brand for the DAO--spout the party line, don't address criticism. Darrell Clarke sent a delegate, who, interestingly, started off by saying that maybe defunding the police isn't the best idea in light of rising violent crime. Clarke's delegate said his office received a high volume of emails about the recent carjackings and encouraged people to contact the office about concerns. (Clarke is generally useless, so people should contact him, but know that it usually feels like a futile exercise.)

So, I do think leadership knows this is a dire emergency, but whether they have the competence and political will to address it remains to be seen.

[henrychen]

Originally Posted by selhars

How many carjackings are we up to this year? Almost 100?
How are the highest elected officials in this city NOT seeing and addressing this as a dire emergency?

It would go against their progressive agenda of keeping people out of jail. Some can deny it all they want, but it's political with racial/social components. It's where we're at as a society and future generations will look back and think we were nuts.

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

Damn, thefts at Allens Lane and Greene? If that isn't safe, no part of Philly is. As someone who is looking to buy in the near future, gee, Ambler or Ardmore sure looks nice...


I think the only other area of town I'd live in is by the art museum. I looked at newer places a little further out, like Francisville, well, I am happy there is construction but its entirely charm free, no parking and not very safe. No thanks.

Of course they are going to the nice areas for theft, that's where people with nice things are.

What's wrong with areas like Washington Square, Grad Hospital, Hawthorne, Manayunk, etc.? I bought in Washington Square last year and it's a fantastic area, I love living here and walk around day and night. I did look in Francisville but it wasn't super walkable, still had some sketchy corners/streets, and was bland.

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by henrychen

Plenty of jobs available for the young males committing these crimes. Want a car - get a job. One of the would-be carjacking victims even stated as much.

I completely agree with you. That said, I think my point still stands, Philly isn't in a vacuum and reflects national trends. If we get past COVID, and there aren't any more high profile events leading to unrest, rioting, etc., I expect things to slowly calm down at some point and our country can get back to crime trending downward. Electing better leadership would help too, but I don't subscribe to the narrative that "every killing is blood on Krasner's hands", he's an idiot and partly responsible for the increase in violence but he's not making anyone commit crimes either.

[selhars]

Originally Posted by JamesJay64

If we get past COVID, and there aren't any more high profile events leading to unrest, rioting, etc., I expect things to slowly calm down at some point and our country can get back to crime trending downward.

If it's not trending downward now -- when practically anybody can go into any store -- and get a job....when many employers in any number of sectors are offering bonuses to new hires....what makes you think it will trend downward after COVID?

What's wrong with areas like Washington Square, Grad Hospital, Hawthorne, Manayunk, etc.? I bought in Washington Square and it's a fantastic area, I love living here and walk around day and night.

People in Queen Village didn't expect some of the incidents that have happened there either.

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by selhars

If it's not trending downward now -- when practically anybody can go into any store -- and get a job....when many employers in any number of sectors are offering bonuses to new hires....what makes you think it will trend downward after COVID?



People in Queen Village didn't expect some of the incidents that have happened there either.

Simply because this sort of thing has been cyclical, historically.

Regarding Queen Village, that's true... but incidents can occur anywhere where there are people. No one in Midtown Manhattan expected 3 carjackings within an hour of each other this past Wednesday. No one expected a shooting at the Miami airport on Thursday. You can stay home your whole life to avoid these things, or just do your best to be careful when out in public. Personally, I'd still recommend Queen Village, living just north of there I'm in the neighborhood regularly.