Pennsylvania News Today: Congressmen join forces to plan to drive archers out of the city of Philly | Local News

Wrendale Rogers, whose daughter Simone Monea Rogers stood about 25 feet away from the basketball court that was fatally injured last August, stood listening to US Congressman Dwight Evans on Wednesday afternoon.

Evans was joined by Police Secretary Daniel Outlaw and Brian Fitzpatrick, Brendan Boyle, and Mary Gay Scanlon to advocate the Clearance and Technical Investigation Method (VICTIM) Act for violence cases.

A bipartisan group stood in front of the news media at Jerome Brown Playground and spoke in support of a $ 1 billion law that would provide $ 100 million in funding over the next decade. This law helps local and state police increase the clearance rate for fatal and non-fatal shootings across the country.

“This is the scene of an unresolved 15-year-old deadly shooting last August,” Evans said. “She died within 24 hours just because someone fired at the crowd. Our police need more help to resolve this type of incident. We shoot these shooters from the street. You need to get rid of it. This is a national issue. About half of the shootings are unsolved in the United States. “

According to Evans, his co-sponsored VICTIM Act was introduced by former Orlando Police Commissioner and current US Congressman Val Demings. Not only does it help increase the clearance rate of unresolved gunfire locally and nationwide, but it also helps to hire and deploy more police officers to patrol the streets.

Outlaw said it’s not a secret that law enforcement agencies are suffering from staff depletion, as funding issues have stopped hiring several police officers.

“Here at PPD, we are triaging these harsh realities in every possible way. As mentioned earlier, we want to increase visibility with new initiatives to combat violent crime in 2022. “Mr. Outlaw said. “We removed the police from the specialized forces and returned them to patrol to place more boots on the ground. We continued to use data and intelligence to guide the placement of police, depending on the area known to be problematic. We will deploy many police officers. “

Outlaw also discussed plans to deploy non-fatal shooting units to centralize detectives investigating non-fatal shootings throughout Philadelphia.

“The VICTIM Act may give law enforcement agencies a better opportunity to deal with the increased gun violence we see here in our beautiful cities and many cities across the country.” Outlaw said. “Sadly, not all crimes can be stopped, but the additional funding provided by the VICTIM Act will ensure that community members and victims hear their voices and receive the resources they need. Make sure they are accessible. While they feel safer in their neighborhood and the criminal justice system is responsible for inflicting terrorism on our community, innocent people Find the comfort and closure of doing their job of protecting. “

Outlaw also added that the funding would help DNA research capabilities.

Scanlon, who was hijacked in December, said a full-scale approach was needed to combat the epidemic of crime and gun violence.

“It will require common sense gun safety laws, resources to support law enforcement for mental health, and investment in education and employment opportunities for all Americans,” Scanlon said. rice field. “We are standing here today as a bipartisan parliamentary group representing Philadelphia and its suburbs, because we all believe that we have a role to play in resolving this crisis. Because. “

According to Scanlon, the House Judiciary Committee met on Wednesday to discuss how to move the bill forward and hear it. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Governor Tom Wolfe also continue to allocate money and money to prevent gun violence, so she said there was more than one solution. But she said the VICTIM law would be useful (if passed).

Congressmen join forces to plan to drive archers out of the city of Philly | Local News