Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love. If what we see in the crime statistics is brotherly love, then we're talking about a seriously dysfunctional family.
It's a dangerous, violent city that hasn't exactly settled down all that much in the last few years.
District Attorney Larry Krasner has really been a part of it.
The Soros-funded DA is one of many who jumped on the criminal justice reform bandwagon--that's the same bandwagon that basically turned jail doors into revolving doors, putting dangerous criminals back out on the streets, sometimes within hours of their previous arrest.
Now, though, Krasner has decided it's time to get tough. Now, he wants to crack down on "gun offenders."
On Monday, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the new unit -- which his office is calling the Prolific Gun Offenders Unit -- that will prosecute gun offenses, like unlawful possession of a firearm, ghost guns -- which are firearms that are unregistered and can be made of polymer plastics -- straw purchasers and other offences.
In a statement on the new unit, Krasner's office said that it would be tasked with working closely with other law enforcement entities to "ascertain whether those arrested are actively involved with street groups who commit violence in Philadelphia."
...
"We believe the Prolific Gun Offenders Unit will have a significant impact on violent crime and gun possession in Philadelphia," [Assistant District Attorney Jeffery] Palmer said, in a statement. "Through my work as Assistant Supervisor of the Gun Violence Task Force and Homicide and Non-Fatal Shootings Unit, I'm very familiar with the danger that illegal firearms pose to everyone in our city. The Prolific Gun Offender Unit will focus on the small percentage of people who pose a large risk to the safety and well-being of the wonderful people of Philadelphia."
So, he's finally decided to actually try and arrest people and put them in jail?
A novel idea.
Granted, he's doing it by focusing on guns, which is incredibly on-brand for the anti-gun DA, but at least this time he's focusing on people who use firearms illegally. This shouldn't jam up law-abiding citizens, though this is Krasner so I'm not going to just assume he won't find a way to make this really stupid.
With that said, the underlying premise laid down by Palmer--that the majority of the issues are created by a small percentage of the population--is sound. We've seen numerous reports that this is, in fact, the case.
Focusing attention on those who obtain and use a firearm illegal makes a lot more sense than Krasner's effort to curb suppose "ghost guns" in the city, where they account for a small fraction of the total firearms recovered.
The problem, however, is that Krasner's office has a long history of not prosecuting people sufficiently. They have a history of simply treating violent criminals as if it was just some silly misunderstanding and letting them right back on the streets.
They don't need a special unit to focus on "prolific gun offenders" or anything of the sort. They need a DA that actually does his job, prosecutes people who break the law, puts them in prison, and cleans up the streets rather than coddles violent criminals.
I know, I know, that's just crazy talk, but it's also the truth.
Krasner's latest move isn't as stupid as his previous ones, but it still revolves around treating guns like they're the problem rather than really acknowledging that violent people are the issue.
After all, if someone has a record a mile long for violence but he only ever uses a knife, is that somehow less of a public safety issue? Is it alright to let someone like that walk?
In Krasner's world, it sure looks like it.
