The Record-Breaking Homicide Wave in Philadelphia
Violence denialism has become one of the worst rhetorical impulses on the progressive left. The left s failure to acknowledge the traumatizing effects of violent crime breeds greater sympathy for offenders than for their victims, leading to dangerously misguided policies that reduce the prison population without considering their impact on the broader society.
Last week, Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner, a prominent criminal justice reform advocate, generated blistering backlash after explicitly dismissing the recent explosion of violent crime in his city:
We don t have a crisis of lawlessness, we don t have a crisis of crime, we don t have a crisis of violence, the district attorney told reporters at a Monday press conference when asked if tourists are safe to travel to Philadelphia for the holidays. It s important that we don t let this become mushy and bleed into the notion that there is some kind of big spike in crime.
The crime stats tell a different story. As of Saturday night, the city tallied 535 homicides, shattering its record 500 homicides set in 1990, the height of the crack epidemic. This summer, the city reached another grim milestone: Philadelphia had the highest murder rate per capita of the country s 10 largest cities.