Crime in Philadelphia

Philadelphia consistently ranks above the national average in terms of crime, especially violent offenses. It has the highest violent crime rate of the ten American cities with a population greater than 1 million residents as well as the highest poverty rate among these cities. It has been included in real estate analytics company NeighborhoodScout's "Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in America" list every year since it has been compiled. Much of the crime is concentrated in the North, West, and Southwest sections of the city.

Philadelphia
Crime rates* (2014)
Violent crimes
Homicide15.9
Rape77.4**
Robbery447.2
Aggravated assault481.1
Total violent crime1021.4
Property crimes
Burglary621.8
Larceny-theft2398.5
Motor vehicle theft367.4
Arson25.6
Total property crime3387.7
Notes

*Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population.

** Revised definition[1]

Source: FBI 2014 UCR data

Charles Ramsey, the police commissioner, has stated his goal to reduce the number of homicides by 100 per year.[2]

The legal entities responsible for maintaining law and order are:

Notable cases and incidents
  • Philadelphia Election Riot (1742)
  • Lombard Street Riot (1842) - Three-day race riot.
  • Philadelphia Nativist Riots (1844)
  • The Schuylkill Rangers - (mid-1800s) criminal gang - see Jimmy Haggerty
  • Kidnapping of Charley Ross (1874).
  • Willie Sutton "The Robin Hood of Brooklyn" (1930-50's) - Robbed most Philadelphia Banks, some twice, captured and tunneled out of Eastern State Penitentiary was recaptured and sent to Holmesburg Prison which he subsequently escaped from by ladder.
  • Philadelphia Poison Ring (1938) - At least 70 people poisoned with arsenic, several by their wives.
  • Philadelphia 1964 race riot (1964)
  • Marie Noe (1949–1968) - Murdered eight of her children.
  • Boy in the Box (1957) - Unidentified five-year-old boy found dead in a cardboard box.
  • Dolores Della Penna – 1972 abduction and dismemberment of Tacony teenager remains unsolved.
  • Carl Gugasian - "The Friday Night Bank Robber" (1972-2002) - Perhaps the most successful in American history - robbed banks up and down the east coast.
  • Joseph Kallinger - Schizophrenic Serial Murderer. (1974–75)
  • Ira Einhorn, "The Unicorn Killer" (1977) - Popular counterculture figure killed his girlfriend and hid her body in his closet.
  • Ed Savitz (1975-1992) - Sexual predator thought to have abused hundreds of teenage boys.
  • Mumia Abu-Jamal (1981) - Convicted for the murder of PPD officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.
  • Joseph Kindler - Serial burglar convicted of 1982 murder, sentenced to death, escaped prison twice, extradited from Canada.[3]
  • MOVE (1978,1985) - Activist group which clashed with the PPD, resulting in the police's purposeful destruction of 65 homes in Cobb's Creek neighborhood.
  • Frankford Slasher (1985–1990) - Thought to have killed several women. Never caught, though a prime suspect referred to only as 'The Minister' was known to police.
  • Gary M. Heidnik (1986–1987) - Kidnapped, imprisoned, raped, and tortured six women, two of whom he murdered.
  • Harrison Graham (1986–1987) - Killed seven women.
  • Raymond Carter (1988) - Convicted of killing Robert "Puppet" Harris; verdict overturned in 1996 due to likelihood of false testimony.
  • 39th District corruption scandal (1990s) - Police corruption which led to the overturning of 160-300 cases and release of 100 prisoners.
  • Eddie Polec murder case (1994)
  • Troy Graves "Center City Rapist" (1997–1999) - Committed five rapes and one murder
  • Lex Street Massacre (Dec. 28th, 2000)- 7 people were murdered in a crack house.[4]
  • Murder of Jason Sweeney (2003) - 16 year old murdered by his friends for his paycheck.
  • City Hall corruption scandal (2003-5) - mayor's office bugged by FBI, several convictions resulting.[5]
  • Kermit Gosnell (?-2010) - Abortion doctor convicted of killing newborns.
  • Earl Bradley (?-2010) - Pediatrician charged with hundreds of sex crimes against children.
  • Philadelphia basement kidnapping, October 2011, an ongoing investigation into alleged kidnapping of four mentally disabled adults, who were held in a Northeast Philadelphia basement.

Homicides
Year 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Homicides (city, number)[6] 277 402 427 460 489 505 450 423 437 400 433 412 409 340 335 325 309 288 348 330 375 406 391 331 302 306 326 331 246 248 280 277 315 351
Homicides (city, rate)[7] 44.3 43.5 41.6 44.3 42.6 41.7 37.5 35.2 36.4 33.3 36.8 34.3 34.8 25.8 29.4 26.5 20.4 18.9 23.3 22.2 25.6 27.7 27.3 23.0 19.5 19.6 21.2 21.5 15.9 15.9 17.9 17.4 21.1 22.2
Homicides (US, rate)[8] 11.7 12.9 10.4 11.1 10.8 10.5 9.2 8.7 9.0 8.2 9.2 7.6 7.5 6.0 6.1 5.9 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.9 5.3 5.3

Organized crime

Documentaries

See also

References
  1. "FBI".
  2. Ramsey’s goal: 100 fewer murders a year
  3. A 1982 murder, a capital sentence, two escapes and now, a reprieve from death row
  4. http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/lifestyles/79678342.html
  5. U.S. Bug in Mayor's Office Roils Philadelphia Race
  6. "Crime rate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA):". Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  7. "Crime rate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA):". Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  8. "Crime rate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA):". Retrieved 28 May 2017.
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