Police make public a list of city's 150 most wanted

[Kate]

I'm not sure if this is going to help with the crime in Philly, but it can't hurt.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Link to Philly's 150 most wanted

In the latest salvo in the city's stepped-up war against crime, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey yesterday released a list of more than 150 of Philadelphia's most wanted fugitives.

At a news conference at police headquarters, Ramsey and Mayor Nutter unveiled the list - which includes suspected murders, rapists and armed robbers - in a 34-page book compiled by the department's Criminal Intelligence Unit. The list includes photographs and last-known addresses of the fugitives.

"We want all Philadelphians to know who these individuals are, the crimes they've committed, [and] why they are making this city in the condition that it's in. If you have information, please call 911, call your local police district," Nutter said.

The release of the list came a week after the new police commissioner unveiled his crime-fighting strategy, which included a call to dramatically reduce the number of outstanding criminal warrants.

Police say that repeat offenders are responsible for a disproportionate number of violent crimes, which Ramsey pledged to reduce by 20 percent in his first year.

The list includes suspects wanted in the nine police districts that Ramsey wants to target with beefed up patrols after May 1. Ramsey said the department plans to release another list shortly that will identify suspects in all 23 districts.

While those identified yesterday are not responsible for all crime, Ramsey said, "they are responsible for a considerable amount of it."

Nutter stressed the importance of the public's help. He said the list would be posted on the police and city Web sites so that citizens will know those wanted are "hiding in their midst."

"The culture in Philadelphia is about 'Stop snitching.' I want to send another message: We need to start telling. We need citizens to start telling us what's going on," Nutter said.

The mayor warned that the public should contact police with information and should not confront the suspects.

"Do not approach them," Nutter said. "They should all be considered dangerous - because they are."

Nutter made the city's crime rate a major focus of his mayoral campaign. At his inaugural last month, he promised to reduce the murder rate by 30 to 50 percent in three years.

Last year, the city recorded 392 murders, and Ramsey, in his crime-fighting plan, said he hoped to cut that figure by 100 this year.

The centerpiece of his plan is to shift 200 more officers into patrols in the nine districts that account for a majority of violent crimes.

He also said he wanted to significantly reduce the number of fugitives - 2,800 - wanted for serious crimes.

"It goes back to the notion that the same people commit crimes over and over again," Ramsey said.