From February 26:
From the candidates
All five of the major Democratic candidates have either released or stated their plans to address the city’s rising murder rate (406 slain last year).
The candidates call for hiring 500, no 1,000, new cops.
They call for programs to remove illegal guns, to address the few and far between job opportunities for the city’s lower class. Drug treatment. Redistricting of police boundaries.
Many of their plans read the same, but each candidate puts a different spin on at least some aspect of what would be their crime-fighting philosophy: Mayor Nutter would call a state of emergency in the city’s hotspots; Mayor Brady wants a cabinet-level position for faith-based initiatives; Mayor Fattah would work to beef up the city’s homicide division and try to get the FOP to agree to negotiate a new contract, rather than use arbitration; Mayor Evans would push for John Timoney return to the commissioner’s post; Mayor Knox would create a secretary for public safety to oversee the fight against crime and work to redistrict the police department.
Hear from the candidates directly here, and a look at what the experts think here. Check back throughout the day for more on the candidates' stances on crime.
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