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| Photo Credit: Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer |
for City Journal
Last week, Philadelphia's police department reported that criminal activity in the first three months of this year increased by double-digit percentages when compared with the same period in 2019 -- the most violent year since 2007.
So far in 2020, property and violent crimes have spiked by 16 and 11 percent respectively, with the largest increases in retail theft -- which skyrocketed 59 percent after District Attorney Larry Kasner announced that his office wouldn't prosecute that crime -- and other serious violent offenses, such as aggravated assault, up by 20 percent/
Though The Philadelphia Inquirer has tried to downplay the spike in crime, statistic show that, even as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds, crime has increased overall, despite a slight slip during the first full week of shutdowns.
The rest of the story can be read here.