Pubdate: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) Copyright: 2003 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc Contact: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340 Safe Streets ACT II NEEDS A REWRITE Mayor Street could not have set the scene better on Election Day if he had tried. Marlon Magill, a 30-year-old machinist, talked about the Safe Streets crime-fighting program when asked why he had just voted to give the mayor four more years. "Look at the neighborhood," said Magill, gesturing toward the area around his polling place at Ninth and Lehigh in North Philadelphia. "There are no drug dealers on the corners." Magill is not alone in his praise for Safe Streets. To many Philadelphians, it has been the saviour of their neighborhoods. Where before they hid from drug dealing taking place on the cornier, now neighbors sit on the steps, children play on the sidewalk. Judging just by those achievements, Safe Streets is worth continuing. Unfortunately, that is not the only measure. There is financial feasibility. There is citywide effectiveness. If Mayor Street and Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson want to keep Safe Streets rolling, they need a plan for building upon its successes without bankrupting the city. They need: Safe Streets, Act Two. Act One of the antidrug initiative began in May 2002 with police officers stationed at 300 known drug corners. The constant presence worked as the number of crimes in many categories went down and residents let out a sigh of relief. Success had its price. The city budgeted $100 million over five years for the program. Yet just this year, police costs for Safe Streets are expected to hit at least $30 million. Fighting crime requires a strategy - and tens of millions a year in OT is not sustainable in a city in a state in financial straits. Even if that amount shrinks some, as officials predict, the city still will be hard-pressed to find the money. Crime-fighting also requires a strategy that adjusts to different circumstances. Some crimes dropped off in the program's first 18 months. But violent crimes, including shootings and murders, are up in 2003. While residents in some neighborhoods hail Safe Streets, others complain drug dealers simply have moved their operations to where there is no police presence. The entire city deserves the best police protection possible. Signals from city officials have been confusing. A police memo sent out on the day of the mayor's reelection called for cutting Safe Streets overtime costs in half this month. Yet Street reportedly said he would fire any official who suggested big cuts in Safe Streets soon after the election, to avoid the impression that he kept police presence high leading up to the balloting, on to drop it afterward. Johnson has insisted overtime costs could be cut in half for November without hurting the program because dozens of officers were back from vacations and less overtime was needed. Maybe. But plans must extend beyond November. Act Two might involve retooling Safe Streets and better blending a variety of approaches, including an aggressive arrest and prosecution strategy. It might involve better use of CompStat, the computerized crime-tracking program John Timoney introduced as commissioner. What shouldn't change in Act Two is the program's goal: safer streets and safer neighborhoods. If that cannot be achieved throughout the city, for more than a year or two, then officials will have to decide whether there should be an Act Three. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens