Crime in Philadelphia discussion (Somerset: station, subway, equity)

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by quiet life

Not snotty at all. I made a flip comment but it seems to have ruffled your feathers. I have done retail and fast food work so I am sympathetic. Bad people come in all shapes and sizes. I get it. Oh, they make 15 bucks an hour? Excuse me!

Nah, your comment about the "10 buck an hour store clerk" is foolish. You'd have low to zero quality of life if it weren't for so-called 10 buck workers.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

You'd have low to zero quality of life if it weren't for so-called 10 buck workers.

[cpomp]

Crime related.

Philly lawmakers vote to ban ski masks in some public places
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/ph...-20231130.html

A circumstance when common sense prevailed, yet with pushback (excerpts below). Can someone explain why anyone would need to wear a ski mask in public and how this "would further criminalize and marginalize young Black men in our city"? Seems like a reasonable law to ban ski masks in parks, schools, daycares and city-owned buildings... are people really that entitled?


Members voted, 13-2, to approve the bill, which allows the city to fine people $250 for wearing a ski mask, also called a balaclava, in parks, schools, daycares, city-owned buildings, and on public transit. There are exceptions for religious expression and “First Amendment activities” like protesting.

Progressive Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, of the Working Families Party, and Democrat Jamie Gauthier voted against the bill.

Take off the mask, Council says: Councilmember Anthony Phillips, who represents parts of Northwest and Northeast Philadelphia, authored the ski mask legislation following several instances of violence committed by people donning facial coverings. The police department supported the bill, saying it would make it easier for them to solve crimes.

During a speech Thursday, Phillips, who is Black and the youngest member of Council, said his legislation was not aimed at furthering “negative narratives” about Black men, but he framed the vote as a choice between “cosign[ing] lawlessness or demand[ing] decency and a high quality of life.”

Gauthier said she came into Council expecting to vote in favor of the bill because it could be a tool to help the Police Department solve crimes, but said she was moved by young people who testified against it.

“I can’t in good conscience vote for something that I feel would further criminalize and marginalize young Black men in our city,” she said, “particularly when I don’t feel like, as a city, we’ve done enough to engage them, listen to them, and support them.”

A half-dozen residents, including several wearing ski masks, spoke Thursday and urged members to vote against the bill. Jetson Cruz, an activist with The Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project, said the legislation would provide police “another reason to stop and harass people.”

Solomon Furious Worlds, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, also testified in opposition to the bill, saying it is “an attempt to further criminalize young people of color” and could result in officers stopping and frisking pedestrians without legal justification.

[Redddog]

Absolute freaking rubbish.

This is the kind of garbage I really hope Cherelle calls people out on. Gauthier and Brooks should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. Nearly every violent criminal with half a brain has worn a mask to commit their heinous crimes. Masks have become part of the uniform of the violent criminal. The ski mask thing doesn't go far enough. I have no idea how you would do this but even regular masks are abused by violent criminals and should be addressed. These criminals have taken advantage of a global health pandemic to conceal their faces while they terrorize the city. And these two want to protect the ability to continue to do that calling it an attempt to "criminalize young people of color."

Are THEY saying that it's young people of color that are abusing the use of masks? Because I didn't see anywhere that it was only young people of color for which this ban exists. I think they have some explaining to do.

Unbelievable.

[Hermit12]

I see plenty of white scumbags wearing masks, too.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Crime related.

Philly lawmakers vote to ban ski masks in some public places
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/ph...-20231130.html

Sooo....when a criminal goes to commit crimes...will said criminal respect this new law while he commits his crimes?

Right.

What ever happened to enforcing existing laws instead of distracting from the fact that many DAs allow criminals to walk in the first place to commit more crimes?

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Sooo....when a criminal goes to commit crimes...will said criminal respect this new law while he commits his crimes?

Right.

What ever happened to enforcing existing laws instead of distracting from the fact that many DAs allow criminals to walk in the first place to commit more crimes?

I think it's meant to be a policing tool. The idea is that the police can stop the person who is wearing the ski mask on that basis alone.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by PHL10

I think it's meant to be a policing tool. The idea is that the police can stop the person who is wearing the ski mask on that basis alone.

Good point, and I can see that being helpful...if the cops actually enforce the law..they have every reason not to because itll easily lead to cries of profiling..and at times those cries will be justified. Im not against the effort though. Peace.

[Duderino]

The fact that the bill passed 13-2 just shows the opposition was trying to grandstand.

It's not reasonable in any fashion to try to argue that an article of clothing explicitly designed for facial warmth for any human being (and deliberately used to conceal identity) is an inextricable part of Black racial identity, especially as a majority of other Black Councilmembers disagreed with them.

Glad to see common sense prevailed.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Sooo....when a criminal goes to commit crimes...will said criminal respect this new law while he commits his crimes?

Right.

What ever happened to enforcing existing laws instead of distracting from the fact that many DAs allow criminals to walk in the first place to commit more crimes?

It's both. Violent criminals are emboldened by the lack of tools law enforcement are given to combat the violence issues this city faces AS WELL AS the fact that once an arrest is made, the DA will do all he can do to get that criminal back up and running.

I will never understand the "clear the jails" mentality of Krasner. If the jails are too full, it's because too many criminals who commit crimes are in them (and no...I don't believe low-level drug possession warrants incarceration - I'm talking violent crime). Having too many people in jail is because too many people are committing crime, period.

Blaming the entire problem on Krasner is probably not entirely fair. He has repeatedly reinforced the notion that his "clear the jails" policy does NOT apply to violent criminals, but those perps slip through the massive cracks all the time. And the perception on the street from the criminals is that they will get back out with minimal cost and relative ease. "Consequences for your actions" is most certainly not a deterrent for crime in this environment. And this doesn't even touch on the disconnect between law enforcement and the AGs office. A more distant partnership has rarely occurred between those essential partners.

Front-end preventative programming and intervention is essential to the equation. We're going to have to educate and prepare disadvantaged youth with the knowledge that 1. a life of crime in the streets will not end like you think it's gonna end and 2. you have options that don't suck. But sending the message that you'll be able to treat the city like it's "Grand Theft Auto" and you'll be free to do it with zero consequences won't move the needle one bit. In fact, it's the major recruitment message delivered by gangs and criminal operators. "Don't worry, man. You'll be out in no time if they even catch you."

They laugh at this "Driver Equity" law, the "allowable retail theft" law and now this "Mask Law," among others. And the the people who are advocating for these criminals are the clowns in the equation. The criminals are laughing AT THEM.