How Would Top Dems Tackle Gun Violence? – NBC10 Philadelphia

Monday marked the 128th day of 2023 and, already, Philadelphia has seen 140 people killed due to gun violence.

According to the city controller’s office, which tracks gun violence, 582 people have been shot in the city as of May 4 — with 10% of these shootings involving children.

“It is the most important issue for the citizens of this city to get our public safety under control,” Democratic mayoral candidate, Allan Domb told NBC10.

The former councilman’s concerns over gun violence seem shared by a majority of candidates in the upcoming election for the city’s 100th mayor.

NBC10’s Randy Gyllenhaal recently looked at how Domb, along with mayoral candidates Cherelle Parker, Helen Gym, Rebecca Rhynhart and Jeff Brown would plan to address the city’s ongoing problem with gun violence.

Domb has called for coordination in City Hall, saying that the key to solving gun violence on the city’s streets in providing leadership that, he believes, has been lacking under Mayor Jim Kenney.

In his safety plan, Domb notes he would declare an emergency on crime in the city on his first day in office and would work to “crack down on illegal guns,” if elected.

“Right now we are working in silos. That does not work. We need to bring people together,” Domb told NBC10.

For Parker, the controversial practice of stop-and-frisk should be part of the toolbox that officers of the Philadelphia Police Department could use if they have reasonable suspicion.

“We have allowed lawlessness to prevail for far too long,” she told NBC10.

Her safety plan would also include hiring more community police officers, adding more lighting to neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia and extending the school year to completely year-round.

“It’s community policing. It’s walking the beat,” she said.

For Gym, putting a focus on young people could be the best way to address gun violence. In fact, she’s proposed a guaranteed jobs program for people under the age of 30

“We have to do so much right now to embrace our young people and pull them back into the fold,” Gym told NBC10. “We have to reclaim them from the streets.”

Gym also said she hopes to address “the culture that makes people so afraid for their lives.” In her safety plan, Gym also said she would declare a state of emergency on gun violence.

Former city controller Rhynhart is calling for a balanced approach to gun violence, with her safety plan noting that she, too, would declare a citywide emergency on gun violence, “[i]mmediately following inauguration.”

“This is a balance. This is about having consequence, but also compassion,” Rhynhart told NBC10.

She would call for a coordinated police response while also working to provide safe havens for the city’s youth at libraries and rec centers.

“We also need some serious change to policing in the city and across the county,” she said.

​Rhynhart would also plan to deploy trauma treatment and mental health services in an effort to impact ongoing gun violence, as well.

For Brown, he believes more funding for the city’s rec centers and libraries could impact gun violence, while also calling for more police officers and a stepped up approach to addressing ongoing opioid abuse issues in the city’s Kensington neighborhood.

“Ultimately, you can’t break the law and that’s what we are allowing right now,” he told NBC10.

Brown’s plan to address crime in the city would also plan for state-of-the-art technology — like gunshot detection systems — in an effort to reduce crime and expand Philadelphia’s Group Violence Intervention Program in an effort to curb gang violence.