Philadelphia Crime in the City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Crime in the City of Philadelphia

The crime rate in Philadelphia has been a major issue for many years. Philadelphia is known as one of the cities with a highest crime rate in America. Crime is any act committed that breaks the laws, breaking rules that were established by a state or federal authority. New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are cities that are bigger than Philadelphia, with much larger populations, however they have lower crime rates compared to Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Police Department have made many different attempts and tried several strategies in an effort to reduce crime rate in this city. In 2002 the Police Department launched Operation Safe Streets, where police officers were placed on all the known drug infested streets in attempt decrease crime rates (Lawton, Taylor & Luongo, 2005). In this paper I will discuss some of the issues associated with the crime rate in Philadelphia, such as social stratification, social class, race and ethnicity and other variables.

Police Efforts

Crime is such a major problem in the city of Philadelphia in some areas policing is ineffective (Lawton, Taylor & Luongo, 2005). In 2002 residents in some areas of Philadelphia felt as though it is business as usual, the police crackdowns had stopped and many residents felt as though the police department was failing the residents. Residents also believe that police crack downs take place as a part of political concern, rather than citizen safety (Lawton, Taylor & Luongo, 2005). In attempt to reduce crime Public Closed Circuit Television were installed and monitored in public spaces over the last two decades (Ratcliffe, Taniguchi & Taylor, 2009). This process was beneficial in reducing crime rates in some neighborhoods while it was not beneficial in other neighborhoods. Operation Safe Streets began in 2002, the mayor placed police officers on many street corner to prevent drug activity.

Race and Ethnicity

It is the 21st century and yet there is a major disparity that exists today in Philadephia and in America. There is a significant disparity with incarceration on African-American and Latinos compared to whites (Miller, 2010). There is high evidence to support that victims and incarcerated individuals are drawn from poorer areas, and areas with high racial minorities (Miller, 2010). Philadelphia has a majority of White residents 67.9%, and 26.8% African-Americans (see Appendix E). Although there are much more whites than African-Americans, there are at least seven African-Americans incarcerated for every one white that is incarcerated (Lawton, Taylor & Luongo, 2005).

Poverty, Education and Crime

In the last decade, on average there is between 300 and 400 homicides in Philadelphia, and about half of these homicides go unsolved (see Appendix C). The poverty rate in Philadelphia is extremely high 24.3% (see Appendix A). Cities that have high poverty rates are known to be cities with high crime rates. In 2009 only 52% of the student enrolled in the public school systems are considered proficient or advanced in Math and 47.7% proficient or advanced in reading (PEW, 2010). Neighborhoods that are populated with individuals who are not adequately educated are known to be neighborhoods in poverty and with higher crime rates. According to the census report 22.9% of the people in Philadelphia are below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureasu, 2009). Philadelphia has an 11.5% unemployment rate, which is much higher than the unemployment rate of America which is 9.6% (PEW, 2011). "Delinquency rates are negatively correlated with socioeconomic status" (Barlas & Farrie, 2006). Many theorists argue that the financial state of the individual could drive them into a life of crime for survival.

Political & Economic Structure

Political influence has been a major factor in the efforts to reduce crime in Philadelphia. According to 2010 census Philadelphia has grown and is now the biggest county in the state of Philadelphia. The local government has a heavy responsibility to the residents of Philadelphia; they have a big burden of ensuring the safety and protection of the citizens. One of the biggest election campaign themes is the crime reduction platform. Politicians have based their political career in Philadelphia on the crime rate and the safety of the residents. Philadelphia is known for its historic sites. The city receives a large percentage of their income from tourism, they are known as a service-based city. Philadelphia spends a large amount of money on crime prevention methods.

Social Stratification

Status and class still exists in our society. Our communities are still segregated by rich and poor families, educated individuals and the uneducated. In Philadelphia there is a hierarchy structure that exists. Politicians, wealthy and educated families are on a different social status than the average working class or poor individual. There are different classes of people that live in Philadelphia, lower class, middle class, upper class and the working class. The average household income for residents of Philadelphia is $37,045 which is much lower than the average household income for America which is $50,221 (PEW, 2011). The average household income shows that people in Philadelphia are poorer than people in the rest of the country. The economic state of residents of Philadelphia is a major contributing factor to the crime rate in Philadelphia. Individual who are born in these impoverished neighborhoods and who grow up here have difficulty escaping this lifestyle. These individuals are not given the educational opportunities as children from the middle and upper class neighborhoods. Many critics argue, these children are born into a life of crime and most of them will remain in a life of crime, because they are never given the opportunity, skills or resources to get out of this lifestyle. In 2009 almost every sector of employment in Philadelphia lost employees; however the education and health services sector added 17% new employees (PEW, 2010). This is a growing sector in Philadelphia; the city biggest sector of employment is the service sector.