Police Commissioner Outlaw speaks out against Philadelphia's violence

PHILADELPHIA - As violence continues to plague Philadelphia, Commissioner Outlaw spoke out against the city's ongoing problem.

Last year ended with 499 homicides bringing the rate up to 40% year-to-date making it the second highest tally in the United States behind Chicago. The last year that was as deadly was in 1990.

As of Jan. 5th, the city's number of homicides is already up over 125% from this time last year. 

Commissioner Outlaw noted that much of the symptoms of the violence of 2020 were present in the year before and will be present this year, but there are new solutions they're seeking to explore in order to address the violence. 

"There's more of an acknowledgement that the solution is beyond the police department, as well," Commissioner Outlaw said during a conversation with Good Day Philadelphia on Wednesday. 

She also pointed out that the pandemic is no longer an excuse to point to but rather emphasizes an issue of psychology within the city. 

The Philadelphia Police Department is working to adapt to the ever-changing criminal element in the city.  

"It's important for all of us in the seats whether we're chiefs, 

One on-going solution Commissioner Outlaw pointed to is a joint task force with the District Attorney’s officer, where both groups will sit down weekly to discuss gun violence cases coming in.

Though this initiative is still fairly new it is proving positive in terms of generating useful knowledge between those involved about where these issues are coming from. 

Recently, District Attorney Larry Krasner noted in their review of 400 gun violence cases that didn’t make it to the finish line, almost 75 percent had civilian witnesses that didn’t make it to court, or the evidence was weak and the cases were thrown out.

"If a case is weak, that’s not necessarily a criticism of the police or a criticism of this office, but it is a way we can try to do better," DA Krasner noted.

Each week, the Philadelphia Police Department reviews whether there's a training need, more evidence needed by the department, or if there was an issue within the court system so that moving forward they don't run into such issues. 

"We cannot continue to see what we've seen," Commissioner Outlaw stated. A better system that doesn't fall short in intervening is the latest goal of the department. 

For the upcoming fiscal year, the department will focus heavily on "ensuring that we don't find ourselves in the cycle of doing things over and over again" without results.  

RELATED:

Philadelphia homicide rate inches closer to 500 for 2020 after violent night leaves two dead

Gun violence frustration leads to possible solutions, city leaders say

___

For the latest local news, sports and weather, download the FOX 29 News app.

DOWNLOAD: FOX 29 NEWS APP

Sign up for emails from FOX 29, including our daily Good Day Digest