Crime in Philadelphia

claydavisdbc · November 29, 2008, 12:28am

Is Philadelphia considered to be a “safe” city?

yawn · November 29, 2008, 12:32am

Like many American cities, Philadelphia saw a gradual yet pronounced rise in crime in the years following World War II. Murders peaked in 1990 at 525, for a rate of 31.5 per 100,000. There were an average of about 400 murders a year for most of the 1990s. The murder count dropped in 2002 to 288, then surged four years later to 406. Out of the ten most populous cities in the United States in 2006, Philadelphia had the highest homicide rate at 28 per 100,000 people, though the number of murders decreased to 392 in 2007.

In 2004, there were 5,513.5 crimes per 100,000 people in Philadelphia. In 2005, Philadelphia was ranked by Morgan Quitno as the sixth-most dangerous among 32 American cities with populations over 500,000. Among its neighboring Mid-Atlantic cities in the same population group, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. were ranked second- and third-most dangerous cities in the United States, respectively, and Camden, New Jersey, a suburb across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, was ranked as the most dangerous city in the United States.

In 2006, Camden was the fifth-most dangerous city in the country, lower than its 2004 ranking, but still high for a city its size, while Philadelphia was ranked 29th.

On September 12, 2007, police commissioner Sylvester Johnson called on 10,000 African American men to patrol the streets to lessen crime. Johnson, set up “Call to Action: 10,000 Men, It’s a New Day” in response to the city’s disproportionate homicide rate of young African Americans. Dennis Muhammad, Nation of Islam official, and Mayor John F. Street supported the project. The program was to begin on October 21.

[Crime</a> in Philadelphia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Philadelphia]Crime”>Crime in Philadelphia - Wikipedia)

…I’ll never understand why people don’t look to Wikipedia more often.

MichaelNKat · November 29, 2008, 2:36am

Maybe it’s because Wikepedia is hardly an authoritative source.

Clayd, let me offer you the perspective of someone who has lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia for 55 years, has worked in center city Philadelphia for 30 years and who has 2 college age kids attending schools in Philadelphia (Temple and UArts).

First of all, when looking at generalized crime statistics for Philadelphia, it is important to note that Philadelphia is not just a city, it is a large county that is comprised of a multitude of diverse neighborhoods that take more than an hour to drive from the southern most reaches to the most northern. The crime statistics quoted are for the entire county, not just those neighborhoods that would be thought of as center city Philadelphia. Like any large city, Philadelphia has areas that are severely economically depressed and high crime areas, as well as many areas that are not. The crime statistics are generally driven by neighborhoods where students normally would not find themselves and generally have no reason to be in. Since you posted your question on the UArts forum, lets focus on center city Philadelphia where UArts is located.

UArts is located in the heart of the business and theater districts in center city Philly. It is generally a safe area for students to go to school and enjoy all of the artistic, cultural, social and historic opportunities that Phila has to offer. During the day, the streets are teeming with professionals, businessmen, other workers and students going about their daily lives and walking anywhere you want to go is safe. At night, there is also a high volume of foot traffic in and about UArts as students and others take advantage of all that is offered. It is not at all unusual to see crowds of people out and about well into the night and in warm weather on weekends until 2 am. There is a vibrant nightlife in the city and within a 5 minute walk from all the UArts dorms are no less than 7 performing arts venues with 2 more a 15 minute walk away. Restaurants and retail stores abound on virtually every block in the vicinity of the UArts campus. Three major museums are a 20 minute walk as are a ton of historical buildings and sites. Of course, it is a city and as in any city environment common sense should be used, particularly with respect to students not walking alone late at night and sticking to high foot traffic streets if walking at night. There are 10’s of thousands of students living and going to school in center city Philadelphia and those who ever encounter any crime are in a small minority.

My daughter and her friends love living in center city near UArts. Her freshman year she lived in the Spruce Dorm and this year lives in an apartment 2 blocks from the Terra Building. If I didn’t think it was generally safe for her to do so, she wouldn’t be. If you have any additional specific questions, let me know.

yawn · November 29, 2008, 2:47am

[Table</a> 6 - Crime in the United States 2007](<a href=“http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_06.html]Table”>http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_06.html)
[4</a> killings put 2006 total over '05 top | Philadelphia Inquirer, The | Find Articles at BNET](<a href=“http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200612/ai_n16975780]4”>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200612/ai_n16975780)
[The</a> Philadelphia Inquirer](<a href=“http://inquirer.philly.com/graphics/homicide_map_2007/]The”>http://inquirer.philly.com/graphics/homicide_map_2007/)
[Philadelphia</a> Crime Statistics and Crime Data (Philadelphia, PA)](<a href=“AreaConnect Free Yellow Pages, White Pages and Guides”>Philadelphia Crime Statistics and Crime Data (Philadelphia, PA))
[City</a> Crime Rankings by Population Group](<a href=“http://morganquitno.com/cit06pop.htm#25]City”>http://morganquitno.com/cit06pop.htm#25)

…are you saying these are all lies?

MichaelNKat · November 29, 2008, 4:40am

I’m saying that generalized statistics can paint any picture you want them to. Further, those that rely on bald faced statistics without understanding the factual context and nuances end up very misinformed. I also question the motivation of answering the OP’s inquiry by citing generalized news articles and “statistics” to paint a skewed picture that has no nexus to the reality of student life in Philadelphia.

Does Philadelphia have areas where crime is a real problem, sure - and it’s mostly drug and poverty related in sections of the city (actually county) where students do not frequent but which serves to drive the “statistics” up. Do the statistics reflect the reality of student life in center city Philadelphia, - nope. I’ll repeat what I said before: there are 10’s of thousands of students going to college and living in center city Philadelphia and enjoying the rich cultural and social life the city has to offer. Only a small minority of those students have any encounters with crime and with the exercise of good common sense the risk of a student being the victim of a crime is deminimus. I think the experience that I have as someone whose office has been a block and a half from UArts for 30 years, who knows dozens of friends, acquaintances, and business colleagues with students at Philadelphia colleges, who regularly frequents the restaurants and cultural attractions of center city Philadelphia and who has regular contact with students on a weekly basis can offer a more informed perspective than just the mere citing of “statistics”.

MichaelNKat · November 29, 2008, 10:09am

For those interested in statistics, what follows are the actual crimes occurring on campus in 2005, 2006, and 2007 broken down by category and by campus in general (All) and Residence Facilities. When viewing the “All” category for the entire campus, keep in mind that the “campus” exists in and about the city streets - it is not a “discrete” campus. Campus buildings are located from 12th street up to 17th and from South Street up to Walnut (5 blocks) interspersed with office buildings, residences, retail establishments. So much for sensationalism.

NOTE for some reason I can’t get the “cut and paste” formating to work. For those interested in the source document (College and University Security Information Act Student handbook and Federal Campus and Crime Security Act Report), see <a href=“http://www.uarts.edu/assets/PDF/general/SEC.handbook08.pdf[/url]”>http://www.uarts.edu/assets/PDF/general/SEC.handbook08.pdf</a>

TABLE 2 -
MAIN CAMPUS CRIME STATISTICS REQUIRED BY THE CLERY ACT

<pre><code> All Residence Facilities
</code></pre>

OFFENSE 05 06 07 05 06 07

Murder/
Non-Negligent Manslaughter 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Negligent Manslaughter 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Robbery 2 0 2 0 0 0 
Aggravated Assault 1 0 1 0 0 0 
Motor Vehicle Theft 0 0 0 0 0 0

Arson 2 0 0 0 0 0

Burglary (Total) 1 2 0 0 1 0 
Forcible 1 1 0 0 0 0 
Non-Forcible 2 1 0 0 1 0 
Attempted 2 0 0 0 0 0

Sex Offenses-Forcible (Total) 
Forcible Rape 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Forcible Sodomy 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Sexual Assault 
w/Object 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Forcible Fondling 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Sex Offences-Non Forcible 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Incest 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Statutory Rape 0 0 0 0 0 0

Liquor Law Arrests 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Liquor Law Violations 0 0 0 0 0 0 
(Referred For Disciplinary Action)
25 5 6 25 5 5 
Drug Law Arrests 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Drug Law Violations 
(Referred For Disciplinary Action) 
15 9 12 15 9 12 
Weapons Possession Arrests 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Weapons Possession Violation 
(Referred For Disciplinary Action) 0 0 0 0 0 0

MusThCC · November 29, 2008, 10:21am

I have absolutely no information to offer as to Philadelphia; however, my homepage just had a headline about the list of 15 most dangerous cities in America - based on rankings in various areas - murder, car theft, assault, rape, robbery, and burglary. Out of curiosity I clicked on the list, and discovered that I have lived in 3 of the cities on it, plus spent a fair amount of time in one of the others.

I have only once been the victim of a crime, and that was based on our own sheer stupidity. 25 years ago, my husband and I parked late at night (after rehearsal, of course!) on a city street, with 2 leather coats and a briefcase thrown in the back seat of the car. When we returned to the car, the window had been broken out, and the coats and briefcase were history. Believe me, this could happen in ANY city - and quite probably most suburban or rural areas as well, given the wrong place/wrong time/wrong person walking by.

Two of the cities were absolutely marvelous places to live, and I wouldn’t give up my time in them for anything – the 3rd, I could have done without, but it had nothing to do with any safety perspectives - I just didn’t love the place.

(By the way - Philadelphia was NOT on the list!)

MichaelNKat · November 29, 2008, 10:32am

Or How about these statistics for all of the UArts campus for 2008 year to date from the Pennsylvania State Police:

[url=<a href=“http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/ibi_apps/WFServlet”>http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/ibi_apps/WFServlet</a>]

For some reason, this link won’t work when pasted. Go to PA State Police website, crime statistics and you can pull up a report for University of the Arts .

music_is_life · November 29, 2008, 12:58pm

I attended the summer program at Uarts this summer, and I never felt unsafe walking around the area. I tried to be wise and always make sure I was walking with people at night. There are usually lots of people walking around the city, even late. I felt perfectly comfortable walking by myself during the day, though. No matter what the time, I never felt like anything bad was going to happen. I know crimes happen in cities, but if you’re smart about it, it’s not something to be too worried about.

kiz137 · November 30, 2008, 12:55pm

Every city has its good and bad parts/points. No place is ever 100% safe. Just do your best to not put yourself into danger (aka don’t make stupid choices), and you should be fine.

Crime in Philadelphia

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