Philadelphia PD Rolls Out New Tactic to Tackle Record Homicide Toll

With Philadelphia setting an all-time record for homicides in 2021 with 562 deaths, and no signs of stemming the tide in 2022, a new citywide team of about 40 detectives has been created to focus specifically on nonfatal shootings, an approach that utilizes more manpower than they used to dedicate to an incident with minor injuries and that also makes it easier to find connections between different shootings, reports NPR. While, in theory, nonfatal shootings should be easier to solve, since the victim is alive and can provide evidence, many victims don’t speak up either out of a fear of retaliation by the shooter or a simple refusal to “snitch.

The fact that detectives on nonfatal shootings generally carry more cases than their counterparts in homicide, and have less time to coax witnesses into cooperating, doesn’t help the situation. Connecting shootings in order to head off retaliatory violence is a big reason for this new strategy. However, if a department uses more staffing to investigate nonfatal shootings, it means less effort for other kinds of crimes, such as robberies and burglaries. Homicides aside, last year about 1,800 people were shot and wounded.