COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, January 30, 2007 1:30 p.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER, CHAIR COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN JUAN RAMOS COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN RESOLUTION 060971 - Resolution authorizing City Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings focusing primarily on testimony of Philadelphia youth and young adults regarding gun related and violent crime in our communities, so as to include their experiences and views in developing plans, actions and policy to reduce or eliminate these occurrences and their horrific impact on our young citizens and communities. - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good afternoon, everyone. The Committee on Public Safety is now in session. Would the Clerk please read the title of the resolution.
Resolution 060971, resolution authorizing City Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings focusing primarily on testimony of Philadelphia youth and young adults regarding gun related and violent crime in our communities, so as to include their experiences and views in developing plans, actions and policy to reduce or eliminate these occurrences and their horrific impact on our young citizens and communities.
Thank you. Let the record reflect that in attendance are Committee members Councilman Frank Rizzo, Councilman Jim Kenney to my right and Councilman Bill 24 Greenlee also to my right. I have a brief opening 3 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 statement. Please come in and have a seat and try to be as quiet as you can. We also have seats on the left-hand side of the room. Before we start, I'd just like to welcome everyone that has come today to this afternoon's hearing. Our youth are not only the children of their parents but the sons and daughters of all of us, and for that reason, we have a collective and communal obligation to do the very best that we can to provide for them a safe and secure environment in which to grow and learn. Franklin Delano Roosevelt said at his speech at the University of Penn in 1940, "We cannot always build a future for your youth, but we can build our youth for the future." This is an official City Council hearing and I'd like to begin by thanking those who have taken an interest in Philadelphia and its problems with 4 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 violence in the City of Philadelphia. Resolution 060971 was introduced on December 14th, 2006 to hear from our youth and young adults who are most affected by this horrific plague of gun related and violent crime. To date, we have not given our young citizens enough of an opportunity to speak about how they experience these tragedies and what they believe would help prevent them from becoming involved in the first place. We have been informed by leaders and participants in programs like Don't Fall Down in the Hood, Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia, Youth Services Violence Reduction Program, PAAN and many more that this type of forum is long overdue. We have to let our youth, their families and communities know the strength of our commitment by allowing their voices to be a part of our search for solutions to this devastating problem. Are there any members of this 5 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Committee or Councilmembers present who would like to offer any remarks at this time? (No response.)
Today we will be spending most of our time hearing from our youth. We will begin by giving all the youth here today an opportunity to introduce themselves and give us a brief description of why they're here or why they're in the program that they're in, and after that, we'll hear from a few of the youth as to more detailed information going back to before they did what they did, during the act and after the fact. We'll also see a video called "Close to Death," and that's a Philly-Wood Production and Alpha-Media Entertainment Production, and questions will follow and, before closing, possibly some recommendations and possible solutions. What we actually want to do is 6 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 bring Dr. Leacock up. We've also been joined by Councilman Darrell Clarke. Dr. Leacock, actually the program Don't Fall Down in the Hood is under one of his programs. So, Dr. Leacock, if you just give us a brief description about the program, and then we'll allow the youth and the others to introduce themselves. And the way we're going to do this, we're going to probably take one program at a time. So we'll do Don't Fall Down in the Hood, young people will introduce themselves, and then those that you've said are going to sit at the table and speak, we'll do that. And then we're going to have the video and then we'll go to probably PAAN, AVRP and Integrated Town Watch and any other group that's here. You can begin by identifying yourself, speak directly into the mike and identify yourself for the record and 7 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 spell your name. Thank you.
Okay. Well, I do want to say a real generous thanks to City Council and the Public Safety Committee and particularly Donna Reed Miller for organizing this entire event. I understand it has been about years 9 since the Public Safety and City Council 10 have heard from young people themselves. 11 I think the times have been 12 such over the past few years that it is 13 really critical that young people come to the Council Chambers and sort of talk about what's going on in their lives, what's going on in their communities, what's going on in their schools, what are some of their aspirations, what might be holding them back, and see how we can together as their mentors, the elected officials, the folks who care about them with them work together in making Philadelphia a safer place. Don't Fall Down in the Hood is a program, one of eight programs, a part 8 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 of the Institute for the Development of African American Youth. We're all over the City. Young people come to Don't Fall Down in the Hood on the Temple University campus and work with us for, on average, three to four months. Many of our young people, as you will hear from them themselves, have been arrested for using or carrying a gun, aggravated assault, theft, narcotics. But these are young people who have turned themselves around with the care of the staff and together with their families. These are tremendous young people, as you will hear when they talk. They have great potential and, for whatever reason at the moment, they got caught up in the moment or made choices that weren't positive choices. But we say to them all the time at Don't Fall Down in the Hood, We're glad you're at Don't Fall Down in the Hood, because we can really mentor you and work with you and point you to a future where you can 9 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 really be a productive citizen in our city and in the United States. Violence is great, as we all know, but the young people who are here today are clearly, without a doubt, a part of the solution. And Councilwoman and all of the Council folks here, thanks so much for having us here, and we're looking forward to joining you all the way to make Philadelphia a safer place and to reduce crime and young people's input in making that a real possibility. I want to introduce our fearless leader, Aaron Spence, who is our Interim Board President, so he can say a few words, and then we will open it up to our young people, who will then introduce themselves with the staff, Andre Chin and Phil Harris and others who are here today. Aaron Spence.
Thank you, Archye. I'd also like to thank everybody for coming out and also thank 10 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 our young ones. It takes a lot for them to come up and stand before you, Council. A lot of them expressed some of their anxieties, but I assured them that everybody here is because they want to help. So I encourage our young people --
Excuse me. You have to identify yourself for the record.
So I just encourage our young people to speak up, let everybody know that everybody is here to help to be part of the solution. Also, I want to encourage everybody here that if they get an opportunity, IDAAY does wonderful work with the youth. Archye has been involved for the last 15 or 16 years. But we encourage you to talk to the youth, come down and visit us, come down and visit 11 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 our programs. This program here is really renowned, but we also have seven or eight other programs that are just as successful, and we are really dedicated to helping our youth. I want to thank the youth also for coming out and just telling them to speak up, be fearless and understand that everybody here wants to be part of the solution and help you. Thanks again.
Andre Chin, can I call upon you to have the students announce themselves?
The mike here in the middle is where they can come. Also, for the record, Councilman Juan Ramos has also joined 12 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 this hearing. He's also a member of Public Safety. When you state your name -- can you pull that up? Can that go up? Okay. Good. That's great.
How ya'll doing? My name Lamar Stalworth, L-A-M-A-R, S-T-A-L-W-O-R-T-H. I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood for possession of a firearm.
My name is Tyrell Woods, T-Y-R-E-L-L, W-O-O-D-S, and I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood for possession of a firearm.
My name is Tom Carter. I'm in the Don't Fall Down in the Hood program for possession of a firearm.
My name is Devin Murray, D-E-V-I-N, M-U-R-R-A-Y. 13 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
My name Harum Ulmer, H-A-R-U-M, U-L-M-E-R. I'm in the Don't Fall Down in the Hood program because I was caught with possession of narcotics.
How you doing? My name is Lonelle Parks, L-O-N-E-L-L-E, P-A-R-K-S. I'm in this program, Don't Fall Down in the Hood, for possession of narcotics.
How ya'll doing? My name Bryce Hawthorne, B-R-Y-C-E, H-A-W-T-H-O-R-N-E. I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood because of robbery.
My name is Michal Norha. M-I-C-H-A-L, N-O-R-H-A. I'm in the program Don't Fall Down in the Hood for possession of a firearm.
My name is Lloyd, L-L-O-Y-D, T-U-T-T-I-N-O, Tuttino. I'm here for aggravated assault.
My name is Adan 14 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Rodan, A-D-A-N, R-O-D-A-N. I'm here in the program Don't Fall Down in the Hood. I'm here for robbery.
My name Rahfea Yates, R-A-H-F-E-A. I'm here for possession of a firearm. KEVIN: My name Kevin, K-E-V-I-N. I'm here for possession of narcotics. DUNTAE: My name Duntae, D-U-N-T-A-E. I'm here for a firearm. SHERON: My name Sheron. You spell that S-H-E-R-O-N. I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood for robbery. LATEEF: My name Lateef, L-A-T-E-E-F. I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood for robbery. TERENCE: My name Terence, T-E-R-E-N-C-E. I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood for gun and narcotics. AARON: My name Aaron, A-A-R-O-N. I'm here for assault.
Thank you. Thank you. Don't we have about -- 15 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Dr. Leacock, I don't see you. Okay. There you are. I see you. Hold on one second. We have -- I don't know how many are going to be up there with you. Councilman Kenney.
Thank you very much. Before you get started, I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for your courage coming in here in a public way and speaking to us and showing us that you've changed. (Applause.)
I think it takes a lot of courage to face people and to talk about things that you've done in your past that you may not be proud of, but I want to let you know that we appreciate the fact that you come in here today, and wish you all the luck in the future. And I think this is good because we can kind of get an idea what you may need to help you continue on the right path. It also is frightening to see the number of firearms that people have 16 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 available to them, and we got to figure out a way not only to get them out of your hands, which you've done on your own, but to find out the people who are putting them in your hands, because they're the real criminals. (Applause.)
I, too, want to just thank you, too, for your courage in coming in here today. You didn't have to, and I know some people were a little bit nervous. But when I was out at one of the hearings that we had out in the neighborhoods and when I saw and heard young people and how many of those said that they had a weapons offense, to tell you the truth, I almost fell out of my chair. I couldn't believe it was so many. But we can read about the problem, we can hear about it, but when I saw it in my face, then it was real to me. So I really want to thank you guys for coming in. I'm just saying 17 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 "guys." I mean also the young ladies that we'll get to a little bit later. Okay. Thank you. We can begin. And don't forget, state your name clearly, speak into the mike so we can hear you good. Okay? So let's get started. Who is going first?
Good afternoon. My name Andre Chin, A-N-D-R-E, C-H-I-N. I just want to thank you for the opportunity to have the young people speak in front of you today. I think these young men have prepared very well. Had a difficult time with them in the beginning, and when we saw a big, positive adjustment in their change and they're on a positive path right now and they're trying to stay out of trouble. I'm going to introduce to you at first to my right Lamar Stalworth.
How you doing? My name Lamar Stalworth, L-A-M-A-R, S-T-A-L-W-O-R-T-H. And I'm thanking 18 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 ya'll for giving me the opportunity to come speak with ya'll today. One of the things I wanted to bring up was about opportunities for job sites in the neighborhood. We came up with the name Our New Deal. It was about Philadelphia workshops in the neighborhood as far as people like ex-cons and high school dropouts, people that's on the corner, for like jobs that's in the neighborhood, jobs that -- I mean, work that's in the neighborhood that need to be done that nobody do, stuff like that. As far as smaller classrooms and stuff in schools, workshops for schools, so whereas though if you want to be in high school and if you don't think you can go all the way through college, you can be able to come straight out of high school with like a certificate to be a carpenter, plumber, something like that. That's about it. I will introduce my fellow 19 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 program person, Devin.
Hi. My name is Devin Murray, D-E-V-I-N, M-U-R-R-A-Y. I'm here to talk about recreation centers in the neighborhoods. As far as like -- talk about recreation centers like putting more hours into the community, show the people that they're here to make a change, not just for the money and, you know, put more effort into what they do. And recreation centers need to be available hours a day. There has been 14 violence at the recreation centers, so 15 security is always an issue. We need 16 competent and caring staff that will go 17 the extra mile. Recreation centers need 18 to meet the interests of the youth. In 19 order to do this, we need input from the 20 youth. Young people end up on corners 21 because some recreation centers are just 22 as unsafe in some areas as being on the 23 corners. We need regular programming 24 that is consistent, exciting and also safe. Overall, the recreation centers 20 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 need to provide us with things we are missing at home and cater to our needs. The recreation centers should reflect the needs of the community. As of now, the recreation centers are lacking. They're lacking the ability to comprehensively serve the community. Thank you.
How you doing? I'm Lamar Stalworth again. I wanted to sit and tell ya'll about the time and what caused me to get to Don't Fall Down in the Hood, to be in this program. One day I was in North Philly at the area at 31st and Montgomery and I was just hanging out in my neighborhood, when a cop was chasing a little boy. Well, I know a person that was running past and the cop was chasing him. The cop dropped his firearm. I picked it up. Me being a person who I was, ain't have no job, ain't have no money, being out on the corner hustling and everything, I knew I could sell the gun on the streets. So I 21 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 took the gun home, concealed it. The cop who dropped his firearm, they recently grabbed the whole -- they locked the neighborhood down. They grabbed people. People told them who had the gun and where I lived at and everything. They came in there, handcuffed me. They beat me up and everything, took me to jail. They didn't find the gun in my possession. They found the gun around the corner on another block. And that's how I got in the program. I got on probation, went to court, tried to fight it, civil suit. That didn't work, so we just got it on regular probation. Then they sent me to the Don't Fall Down in the Hood program. I got released from that program, got off probation. Then like I couldn't find no 22 job, still couldn't find no job, so I felt myself falling back down in the hood. I was going to go back out on the streets to hustle, to try and make money 22 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 to support me and my daughter or whatever. And like it was just like I just started thinking, like something ain't right, like everything don't go right for me like it used to be when I was back then hustling. So I called up Mr. Chin right here and I told him I just had to talk with him. I was letting him know like I feel as though I'm falling back down in the hood. So he told me to come into the program, and ever since then, I've just been coming to the program back and forth to stop from falling down in the hood.
Devin Murray. I'm here to say the reason why I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood is because I was caught in school with a knife. And how that goes, I was at my step dad house on 23 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 the weekend down in West Philly Saturday evening. My nephew had a knife that fell off my mom's key chain, and he threw the knife at me. And I took the knife from him and put it in my pocket. Later on that evening, I go home, changed my clothes, come back down West Philly. Monday morning I had woke up late as I was down West Philly, so by me waking up late, I had to rush home. I didn't have the time to actually get myself prepared for that day, so I just threw the same clothes I had on Saturday and went to school, and the knife was in my pocket. I walked through the metal detectors and set off the alarms. And that's why I'm here in Don't Fall Down in the Hood.
So you were put on probation because you had a knife on your person?
You were put on probation because you had a knife in your pocket or wherever? 24 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Okay. Great. Well, I think what I heard between both of you say is that if we had employment opportunities or training, recreation, education and maybe if the rec centers' hours were a little bit more expanded. Isn't that what you said?
What do we need in rec centers? One of the two said rec centers should meet your needs better or meet the needs --
Yes. As in to cater and actually be there for them, not just for the money, to actually take the time and effort to get to know that person and help them as a neighbor.
Thank you. For the program itself, is there a job referral component or educational training component to the program? How does it work?
We do have educational training. Myself and Philip Harris, the other case manager, the young men who are able to work because of school, we take them out and fill out applications or find jobs. But I think their main purpose the reason why I think they have a hard time finding jobs is because of their charges.
And also because of their age. But I think what they cry for a lot is an opportunity for someone their age to actually find a job. It's very difficult for 16- and 17-year-old kids to find a job. When they're filling out an 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 application, they have to tell the employer that they were arrested and they were carrying a gun. And I think the employers kind of shy away from that because they think that they're thugs and they're not going to be a help.
There's been some discussion in Council and I don't know whether this is Councilman Goode's bill or -- Councilwoman Miller's bill to eliminate that question from the initial round of interview. If you can get to the second or third round of an interview and then that information needs to come forward, then it may make more sense then than eliminating somebody immediately out of the box. Because I mean, if I want them to get right and they're not working, I don't know how they could ever do it. I mean, it's a total catch 22. So we've been having that discussion. I don't know what the status of the bill is, but certainly we're 27 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 supportive of it in trying to figure out a way to get people at least in the door and through the first round of interview. And then if there's a job of sensitivity, if you work at a bank or somewhere that they need to know about your past, at that point in time it should come forward as opposed to the initial entry into it. Do you deal with any agencies or any organizations as far as job referral itself?
What happens when they fill out -- do you give them leads?
Right. We take them to job sites. We take them to K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot, the different sites, take them on the Internet. We use Temple University a lot, so we have access to the computers.
Have the universities been -- I know Temple must be helpful in having your program there, 28 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 but have they been helpful in trying to bring on some young people as far as employees?
At this time, we are working on something with Temple. Professor Leacock has been dealing with Temple for a long time, so they're trying to assist us as much as they can as well. So that's something that's in the works right now.
One of my suggestions -- and I'd be happy to offer my assistance, and I'm sure anybody here would do the same thing -- is to talk to the other institutions. I mean, University of Pennsylvania and we have Drexel, we have large campuses in the city that may be interested in doing something like this and at least giving people a chance to redeem themselves and become productive. So I'd be happy through the Chair to have some contact with you and to make some calls relative to the other 29 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 institutions, hospitals, universities and see if there's some -- I mean, for every one person that you get employed, that's going to be a success story probably in the end.
That will be great. Because they need to build confidence. If they're going and filling out applications and they're not getting any jobs, they're filling out six and seven applications and they're not getting a job, they lose confidence.
I mean, if these two men are indicative of the program, they're well spoken, they come in, they look like they could be employable very easily.
So it's just, I think, the opportunities to come about, and the only way to do that is by the Committee making connections. So I'd be happy to -- we'd all be happy to help in that. 30 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Yes. I think we'd all be happy to help. I just have a question here. Now, what age does Don't Fall Down in the Hood go up to?
13 to 18. 9 Okay. So now let me ask you this, 10 because I just don't know: If there's a 11 16-year-old who has committed a crime, 12 does that necessarily have to go down on 13 the job application?
What about what Devin was saying, the inner city like as far as the neighborhood recreation centers and stuff like that? Besides the 16-year-old working, he could be somewhere in like a recreation center on a computer, playing basketball or something like that. 31 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 And another thing, like what about the people that's not in our program, the kid that's on the streets hustling and the adults that need jobs that can't get jobs?
Well, there are programs that are around, but, you know, one of my questions actually today is going to be how can we get more of those young people that are on the streets into places like rec centers, into more structured environments. I go by, drive by rec centers sometimes and they're kind of empty. I'm like, Where are the children? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know we're from two completely different generations, but when we were kids, every day after school we went to the rec center, at night after dinner we went to the rec center or the Y or the Boys Club. Now many of those buildings are empty or you hear that children are afraid to go because of some of the types of 32 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 activities, nuisance types I'll call it, activities that are around some of our rec centers. And then up in the area not far from me we just had three people shot at a recreation center. So what is that going to do to the center? People are going to stay away. One of the things we want to hear from young people today is how can we find solutions, how can we deal. Even if we have midnight basketball. You know, there was a time -- you may be too young, I don't know, but there was a time that Philadelphia was doing midnight basketball and keeping rec centers open a little later. Would people actually come out?
I say the reason why I brought this recreation center up, because it's like the kids do need a place where they need to go and do their homework and just be safe. And by doing that, they need to invest by, again, something that would attract the young 33 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 kids. That's what they're not doing, they're not attracting any young kids. So if they get, you know, a game system, more computers, doing more fun activities and, you know, fundraisers that advertise what they're doing to bring more young people in, that's what they need to do to enhance their ability in what they're doing.
Right. We probably need to make sure that all of the rec centers' advisory boards have young people as a part of that advisory council so you guys can make the recommendation.
My name is Philip Harris. I'm a case manager at Don't Fall Down in the Hood. 34 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 We have two more youth who will speak and also give their testimonial and some solutions and answer some of your questions.
My name is Tyrell Woods. I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood for possession of a gun, and I'm here to talk about police brutality and how we can kind of curve police brutality and we can come up with hotlines that youth could go to to talk about police brutality, because a lot of times when police brutality go on, it just get overlooked and nobody knows where to go to or who to go to to see about the problem. My story and the reason why I'm in Don't Fall Down in the Hood, because one evening I was walking down the block and I had a gun on me and it was past curfew and I got pulled over by the cops 35 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 and I got searched and they found a gun in my pocket, so...
I had the gun on me because me and my friends, we had got into a problem and words got exchanged and it was...
Words got exchanged and you thought you needed the gun to --
And I think that's what a lot of the youth go to, because seemingly they're taking things into their own hands, because I don't know if it's they feel comfortable going to the police and talking about their problems, but they're going out and getting guns on like -- and doing it theirselves. So I think we need to open up that type of dialogue or communication with the police and facilitate some type of training where these young people feel comfortable 36 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 actually going into a police station and talking about what's happening instead of going out to the corners and picking up guns.
So just to be real clear, you're saying that you had a gun to protect yourself because you had a conflict with a friend?
No. It wasn't one of my friends. It was me and my friends and another group.
It was me and my friends, but we had a conflict with another group of people.
But what could have helped was if they were comfortable enough to go into the police station or somewhere to talk about their problem?
Yeah, I think so. As far as some type of prevention in the schools, a type of program to where they 37 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 talk about violence in the communities and also have counselors that cater towards those types of things as far as violence, youth violence, that like a class that's actually taking place in the high schools that will actually inform the youth on the consequences of violence and also be that listening ear where they can talk to. Because many of the youth don't have that at home. They don't have that support. So somewhere it has to be like kind of like a surrogate family that has to be put in place for these youth.
Thank you, Madam Chair. To follow up on something, the first statement that Councilman Kenney made to the young man that just spoke, he said when he had this problem, he felt he had to go out and get a gun. Am I right to assume it was not hard to find that weapon? 38 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
And I assume that probably most of the young people in here can say that they could get a gun pretty easily, correct?
I actually heard that you can rent a gun for an hour. Is that true?
Thank you for being here today to take part in a very, very troubling and the number one 39 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 issue facing Philadelphia, crime, violence and drugs. My line of questioning was along the same lines as my colleague, Councilman Greenlee. If I ask you today to find me a gun, that I wanted to buy a gun, would you have a hard time getting a gun for me? Would you know where to go to purchase a gun?
Yeah, I think so. I don't think it would be a problem for any youth now.
I don't think it would be a problem for any youth to find a gun for you now, how crazy guns is in the neighborhoods. It's like going to the store and getting some chips or something.
If I -- this is hypothetical, and please don't interpret this wrong. And if you went to a place that came to mind to you right now and you couldn't find one there for 40 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 me, would you think of another place where you can go and get it?
And if you couldn't get it in that second place, would there be a third place?
If I was to tell you I need a gun, do you think that you might be able to go five, six, seven different places until you got it for me at the price that I was willing to pay for it?
Okay. You know why? Because I spend a lot of time out in the street, and I live in North Philly, and I was cruising around a part 41 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 of North Philly during the summer, right? And I see this guy on the corner, happened to be a guy that looked like a friend of mine from back in the day, right? So I pull up and I said, So-and-so. And he looked at me. He said, Juan, right? Comes over -- and it was a hot corner. We all know what I mean by a "hot corner." It was a real hot corner. And he walks over to the car and we -- how is your father, my mother died, and we're into that talk. And then I said to him, What are you doing on this corner? And he says to me, It's not what you think I'm doing on the corner. I said, Okay. So what are you doing on the corner? And he said, Somebody has got to sell these guys the guns. And he kind of like caught himself. He says, Juan, I got to get away. I got to go. And he just went away. And what I have picked up is that just as we have the selling of 42 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 drugs in certain parts of the city, indoors, outdoors, that we also have people out there that are selling guns like people selling drugs. Is that the way -- is it that real out there?
I think it is that real, but I think it's going to get worse because there's not a lot of stuff that young people have to do.
Pardon me, Councilman. I hate to interrupt, but we have one more speaker that could give his testimonial and then if we could --
Can I get the answer to that last question, if you don't mind?
It could get worse because young people now, it seems like they're restless. There's nothing to do but go outside and get into stuff. Like they said before, the group before us, 43 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 there's no recreation centers, there's nothing for us to do but go outside and do the wrong thing, because there's not more like programs like Don't Fall Down in the Hood like to prevent stuff. And I think it should be a lot of stuff to prevent stuff like this from happening so we don't have to go to a program like this before we get locked up. So if we had stuff like that, I think it prevents stuff. If not prevent it, it could slow the gun violence down a lot, by telling people the type of consequences you could get from being locked up for a gun and having a gun, because a lot of people don't know.
I appreciate your candor and your insight on this, on how we can do more to tackle this problem of crime, violence and drugs. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.
My name Harum Ulmer and the reason why I'm in Don't Fall Down 44 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 in the Hood because I was caught with possession of narcotics. I'm here today because I want to be a success and part of the solution. The reason what I was doing with the narcotics was, I was serving addicts in the alleyway one day in my West Philly neighborhood. And I was in the alleyway and one of the addicts wanted some crack cocaine, so I went in the alleyway and went to go and get it and I guess one of the neighbors on the block called the cops on me. In less than five minutes, the cops pulled up, and one of them came through the back of the alleyway, one came through the front, and one grabbed me, slammed me, put the cuffs on me, and the other one was looking for my pack and they found it. And then they put me in back of the paddy wagon. At this point in time, I was not going to school because I felt as though there was no reason for me to go to school because it was a lot of things 45 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 happening, you ain't get no teacher. But the reason I was not going to school, because it was less books in the classroom, too many people trying to get the teacher attention. I seen no reason to be in school. Our classroom, the hallways was dirty, broke computers. In CEP, the classrooms in the community, but in reality -- they call it a community, but in reality, it's really like a glass cage, when people is not animals. But after awhile, I put in an effort to get where I needed to go. Now I'm in Bartram Annex. We have cleaner classrooms. We can walk around every day. I really feel free. We have better computers and everything is updated. The way I feel about it is, every young person in Philadelphia needs smaller classrooms, more resources, better teachers, cleaner schools, plus in the main problem that all of us need to get is equal education, no matter your class, your gender or your race, because 46 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 when it come down to it, we all the same Americans. I think they need to shut down CEPs all over the world, not just in Philadelphia, and put more LAA programs out there and just better schools, period. Thank you. (Applause.)
So your recommendation -- you know what I think we should say, too? If anybody wants to send a copy of their recommendations, it 47 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 would be most appreciated. I mean, the stenographer is actually writing down what everyone is saying, but it would be good if we could sort of classify them and send them in.
Just one quick question relative to the program. What relationship do you have with the churches in the neighborhoods? Is there any cooperation or is there any input from church to church with your program?
Yeah. We meet frequently as far as with like pastors and things of that nature.
You're talking about surrogate kind of families. That's kind of the place I would think you could find --
Exactly. And I 48 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 understand where you're going with that, but it seems that a lot of our youth aren't going to the churches. So I don't know what could be put in place or how we can talk to them about that, but religion is not seeming to actually draw them in.
I wasn't actually thinking about going to services, although that would be great, too, but my point is that they have halls and they have social stuff. I mean, there's other things, as you know, that the churches provide other than just the Sunday service, and I'm wondering whether or not -- and even the possibility of employment through a maintenance person or that kind of thing and -- I'll wait for the other ones.
Thank you. You have more young people back there? 49 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Frederick Whiten, F-R-E-D-E-R-I-C-K, W-H-I-T-E-N.
Okay. You can begin wherever, however you're going to begin.
I guess I should begin by first thanking everyone for allowing us to be here today. My boys are sitting here, and I call them "my boys" because I couldn't love them any more than if I was their father. That is the kind of love that purveys throughout the program in Don't Fall Down in the Hood. 50 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 These young men will probably share their stories with you and give as much detail as possible in the short time that we have. So you don't need to hear from me; you need to hear from them.
Like I said before, my name is Tom Carter and I'm in the Don't Fall Down in the Hood program for possession of a firearm. I am here today because I want to be a success and part of the solution. How I got the gun charge is because there was a fight because my friend robbed somebody. After the fight, everyone left. Me and my two friends and four girls were sitting on my dad's house on the steps. They got about 20 more people and were walking down the block towards my dad's house. I took my little cousin in the house and grabbed a 20-gauge shotgun. When I came out of the house, at first I said, What's up now? 51 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 And they ran around the block. As I went around the block after them, an undercover cop put a gun to my head and arrested me. I stayed in the 15th District for about a day, the Youth Study Center for about two days and St. Gabriel's for about two months. When I got out, they put me on house arrest and gave me 30 days to straighten up. During them 30 days, I was smoking marijuana. And once I went back to court, they put me in the Don't Fall Down in the Hood program and kept me on house arrest. My topic I would like to talk about today is, I think we need more choices, because not everybody is made for college. Some solutions that can be put in place are things like apprentice programs, co-ops and other training and certifications in schools that will get us better prepared to have successful lives. If we had options like these, it would keep young males like us off the 52 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 streets. If these programs were already available, I probably would have never been in the Don't Fall Down in the Hood program. I don't think I would be in the Don't Fall Down in the Hood program because I probably would have been at my job instead of in that fight or with that gun.
I'm Lonelle Parks and I'm here today because I want to be a success and part of the solution. The reason I'm here today is because I was caught with narcotics and a switchblade on school grounds. It was about 8:30 in the morning and I was cracking a dutch and the security guard walked up on me while I was sitting in the stairway. He took me down to the room and searched me. He found the narcotics in my pocket after I already emptied my pockets and I took my jacket off and put it on the chair. So they searched my jacket and found the knife. And my topic is, I think they 53 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 need to build more recreational centers for the youths. In our community we need more rec centers to come out to our communities all throughout Philadelphia to make sure younger children, 9, 10, 7 and 12 and so forth, would not be drawn 8 to the streets, gangs and drugs. Also, 9 it would see to it that the recreational 10 centers don't limit children to what they 11 want to do and let them act out showing how artistic they can be in whatever hobbies, interests, sports, performing arts and video games. Also to help them with school work when they don't have anyone else to turn to. I think rec centers should talk to these communities, take them out on trips, picnics, have meetings to show families of these communities that they really do care about making a difference for our future's youth so that families and people of the communities can come together to build a better Philadelphia, meaning knock down vacant houses to 54 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 restore them so that other families can move into the communities, having families put up their own murals in their own neighborhood to show the pride and the neighborhood's true colors. Thank you.
So when you said that if we have more rec centers and we can attract 9, 10, 11-year-old young people, you think that that's a key age to really kind of grab young people and do prevention?
Yes, because around that age, a lot of the youths, like they look to the streets because they don't see anything else, because a lot of these people have so many broken households that when they see other people doing it and they don't see any positivity going on in the streets, they just turn to the streets, because that's all that's out there for them.
What part of the city, where do you live? 55 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Well, we have two recreational centers. Well, Tustin's Playground and Haddington's, but, of course, Haddington's had a lot of murders around there lately, and Tustin's Playground recreational center is not open but seasonal.
Okay. So you'd like to see that open year round, then?
Okay. Why do you think young people don't use recreation centers?
They don't use recreational centers, of course, because they don't think that it's safe there, because, you know, when they get in conflicts with people in school and in the communities, people, you know, they come to those recreational centers, they 56 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 go there just to find the same people, and the same thing goes on with what happened in the streets with them.
Like they think it's a waste of time to go to the rec centers because they're out like -- say they're hustling, they're making the money, they don't want to be in the rec centers.
What can we do to get them off the street from hustling and making their money?
Like I said, like the co-ops, because then they're going to want to like -- like Devin said, he said there ain't enough jobs. So the co-op, it gets them ready for the job. So if they're going to school, they're going to be ready for the job and then they'll have like more qualities that you need for that job. 57 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
You mean like the co-op education they have in schools?
Yeah. Like they'll have certain classes for learning about -- if you want to be a carpenter, you can learn about carpenter in the high schools.
Do you 58 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 still go?
Well, I'm thinking about getting into the Job Corps since I got kicked out of University City.
No. It's not in Germantown. I'm not even sure where it is. 59 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
I'm sorry. The young man in the middle, what's your name again?
Thomas. Thomas, how hard was it for you to get this 20-gauge shotgun?
I'm not asking you where you got it. How did you get it?
What are you saying? 60 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
I said I had a gun before that anyway. I had a few guns before. But they're easy to get.
Where would you get -- if I asked you to get me one, will you be able to get me one today?
I could get you one. I know a few spots, like two or three, like he said.
You think that part of the problem -- it's a very complex problem and all the things that the young men here have stated is so true, but these guns are available. This is the second time I've asked the same question, and both you and the young man before you said yes, they could probably find two or three places where you can go get me a gun. There's guns everywhere. Do you think if we had stricter laws on guns that this would also -- and 61 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 more access to safer playgrounds, according to some of the statements you guys have made, that this can help us eliminate the gun violence in our streets?
You know, it's one thing to know that you can get a gun, but it's also another to have the mindset that you want to get a gun. I was talking to a young man who is incarcerated and I asked him what are some of the young people saying that are already in prison, and he says that they all think they have to carry a gun. And one of the young men up here did say he had a gun on him because he felt like he needed it for protection. I guess at some point we need to move -- even when we have laws, it would be good if we could live in a 62 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 society where people didn't feel like they had to have a gun for protection, because then that means everybody is carrying a gun. And when you sit and watch a western and you see everybody has a gun on their hip and this town becomes calmer when the sheriff makes them put the guns away. So we got to move -- I don't know what happened as to why young people think they have to have a gun or a license to carry. We don't want to live in that kind of society. I don't know what we need to do to turn it around, and that's why we want to talk to young people, so you guys can tell us or young ladies can tell us what we need to do, how can we make a difference.
Councilmembers, these are just a few of our young people 63 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 who actually we can go through the 900 young men that we have worked with over the last nine years. Right now we have served 122 and our referral list is ever growing, and for us the real challenge is not that young people are picking guns up but the choices we put in front of them. For example, here's a good example: Five, six years ago there were 20,000 youth jobs. This past summer there were only 5,000 youth jobs. So when you have more thousand young people who don't 14 have summer jobs and you go and allocate 15 a million more dollars for police officers and you put police officers -- more police officers and more unemployed youth, that's a bad mixture. And you have unsafe recreation centers and you don't have internships and you don't have quality things for our young people to do, you're putting a bad mixture together. Therefore, police officers are going to harass our young people, going to be frisking them for all kinds of odd 64 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 reasons. They don't know their rights, young people, so they don't know how to report -- put police unusual behavior with them, and, therefore, you really get young people doing inappropriate things because there aren't quality opportunities for them. And this is what you are hearing with all our young people, six of them who spoke to you. I could have put up all of the others to address you today. And I think what we really need to focus on, as Lamar was saying, you know, we always say there are no jobs. Well, we have to reallocate some of those dollars and create employment. There are things to do in our neighborhoods, clean streets, clean lots. The abandoned houses are doing nothing. I mean, we're really talking about taxpayers' dollars coming back. We really need to look constructively on how to do some of these things so there are quality choices in front of our young people and not guns. 65 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 The last thing I'll say, because I know there's some other young people who would like to come up to the microphone. Those students are not part of Don't Fall Down in the Hood. But the last thing I would like to say is for all our young people, when we address them on a regular basis and I say to them, If I let you out of this room right now, how quickly can you come back with a gun, they all tell me half hour to 45 minutes. It's all over the place, but the choices aren't where can you go get a gun. The choices for us is where can we find you a quality alternative choice so you won't go get a gun and you will have skills to do things other than fighting and looking for guns to do what our young people need to do. And the last point is, Don't Fall Down in the Hood is the only such program in the State of Pennsylvania. As you heard, our young people are saying they have to get in trouble to get to 66 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Don't Fall Down in the Hood. We need more programs like Don't Fall Down in the Hood, whether or not we call it Don't Fall Down in the Hood or not, and we need to do more of this so young people are not getting smeared with criminal records and then we have to ask employers not to ask that favorite question, have you been arrested. It will be null and void if we put quality choices in front of them. So I really am here to say -- that's why I didn't sit up front, because I didn't want to talk too much. I wanted our young people to really express their thoughts to you. But I feel passionately about this work that we do with young people. We are wasting our young people's lives. And I know you as our leaders, elected leaders, are here to help in tandem work. We need more quality choices, employment, better schools, safer playgrounds and certainly safer streets, and police is just not the answer. 67 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm sorry. Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks for coming in to share your thoughts with us. I heard some of the things that you described that could help alleviate the need for a gun, jobs and all the things that you've discussed today, but if you were the Police Chief and you had to solve the problem of all the guns, how easy they are to get, what would you do, if you were the Police Commissioner for a day and someone asked you what you think you could do? Now, you described and a couple of the other panelists described how easy it is to get a gun. If you were in charge of the police, what would you do to stop such an easy availability of guns? What would you do?
I really don't 68 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 know, but like we said with the jobs, if people had jobs, they wouldn't be on the street with guns. And like Mr. Archye said how you spend money on all them police officers to get us arrested for having guns, if you put that into jobs and co-op, things like we said, like you wouldn't need all them police officers. You may need less. So I'm really not sure.
I think the police officers is reactionary, is after the fact. It's post a negative situation that have smeared and created difficulties for families and our young people. I think we need to obviously deal with the current situation, but we also need to begin to put in place choices for young people so over time coming from both angles we will be able to solve this problem. We think this is doable, by the way, at Don't Fall Down in the Hood, because we deal with the most difficult 69 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 young people, and when they first come to us, they're quite challenging. When they leave us, they are a typical 16-year-old, smiling, having fun, wanting to have a great opportunity. I think the police officer -- and I know him. We meet and sit in his office often -- needs to do events like this, talk to young people. We all want arrests and talk negative about young people, but infinitely we need many more forums like this where we are talking and listening to young people. They know where the trouble spots are in the neighborhood. They know it. We don't need to send police to harass them and to arrest them. Let's do a little less of that and more of listening and talking and providing choices.
Yeah. I was going to say like half of the people on the streets that sell drugs and carry guns, 70 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 like they don't even want to do it themselves, but they do it because there's not many alternatives out there for them. And I know this from experience. (Applause.)
Okay. Thank you. You know, I do agree, Dr. Leacock. I think when I was younger, there was probably more opportunities. If we didn't have school, we had a rec center, we had a church, we had some way -- the Boys Club -- where there was some facility that we could go to to talk to someone. And I agree that I think we probably need more programs that are available for young people to go to, because I think they get a lot of attention, support and counseling from programs such as yours, and we need to figure out how they can still get those same services prior to coming to Don't Fall Down in the Hood. And I think with like AVRP and some of those other 71 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 preventive type programs, maybe some of that can happen. But I agree. Oh, one thing. I do want to recognize that Councilwoman Brown has joined this hearing.
Sure. Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I have just a few words and a question.
First I need to commend you, Madam Chairperson, for yet another opportunity that forces us to look closely at violence, but this may be one of the rare instances where I have seen us hear from young people, young people what you believe -- you tell us how we can better serve you with the challenges that you face. And quality opportunities we hear clearly. One alternative I want to see if you are aware of -- and if you are, what your perspective or opinion is -- our Recreation Commissioner realized shortly after coming here that programs 72 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 for young people between the ages of and 17 were basically non-existent. There were a lot of structured programs for children younger than 13, but for teenagers they just were not there. So a number of teen centers have been opened at various rec centers around the City, and it appears that the response has been favorable. Have you been in them? What is your view of them? Do you think they serve a purpose in providing what one of you called which was a safe playground and the like? What is your perspective about that alternative means to providing recreation to young people between the ages of 13 and 17?
I've been in the recreational centers and a lot of them, like they have boxing, basketball, pool and also homework programs or whatever, but a lot of kids when they go to those recreational centers, like I said, they don't feel safe all the time. And I think if you can put like guards at 73 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 7-Elevens and Rite-Aids and, you know, stores, just regular convenience stores, then you can also put people to guard the youths of the recreational centers that go there that shouldn't feel threatened to go there. You know what I'm saying? The people from their own community.
Sure. So what I hear you saying is that the programs are good, but they serve no 12 purpose if you can't be safe while there.
So still the issue of feeling safe and secure to first get in and then while you're there and probably while you're on your way home as well.
I just want to say one last thing -- one more thing, not one last thing. I mean, the Institute has a program at one of the rec centers in Southwest and we were having our Thanksgiving dinner for about 200 young 74 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 people at the location and there was a shooting. They had to lock all the doors while the kids stayed inside. So, yeah, there might be a teen center, but security is vitally important. We need police officers or we need security guards or somebody to really make sure those facilities are secure. And it drives people away. People often tell my staff at the Southwest program they don't want their kids coming there because they heard of a shooting last week. So, you know, a teen center is a great idea, but you got to be able to come and go safely.
Is there any bigger role or broader role for clergy as it relates to the issues we're talking about today, for the faith-based community, period? Is there any interface with clergy in the community where you come from?
Well, yeah. Like a 75 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 lot of things happen in my community, and some things that happen is still going on in my community. Like around the area of Lansdowne Avenue, like they don't really have a recreational center to go to. They have to go through Master Street, toward Callowhill Street, and, you know, those blocks all have some type of larceny against each other. You know what I mean?
Because of whatever neighborhood violence that goes on between those neighborhoods. You know what I mean? And the recreational center is all the way down on Haverford Avenue, which is right in the middle of all of that.
Okay. So to the question, is there a role for the faith-based, the church, clergy 76 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 community?
And what do you think that role could be or should be?
My take in working a lot with the faith-based organizations -- and we had a couple years ago put together a faith-based conference up at the Bright Hope Baptist Church -- I think a lot of time the faith-based organizations have a particular challenge. They work within certain sectors and it's -- someone needs to be able to get them to talk beyond and across boundaries. I know one pastor said to me, you know, I don't have anyone truant in my church, why should I get involved in truancy? Well, guess what? Your church is in North Philly. Kids are truant. So I think it's a certain kind of education needs to equally happen and churches need to go beyond just serving 77 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 their congregation. And I think although it's a good idea that we get faith-based organizations involved, very often they don't go across the boundaries to see kids as a whole. They want to work with who is in their congregation rather than kids, period. Even if you don't go to the congregation, there is a role for you to play.
I think they need to go out to all the communities, because a lot of these people from these communities that go at it with each other, they really don't know each other. You know what I mean? And that's why that they do these things, because they don't know each other and they don't want to get to know each other. And, you know, people, they look at you and think that you look grimy per se and, you know, they want to start yapping off at the mouth and pulling out guns and shooting 78 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 at each other just because you from 59th Street, 60th Street, 61st Street. Because a lot of these things is block based. And it's different in other cities and other states, but right here and right now, it's going on everywhere. You know what I mean? In West Philly, South Philly, Southwest Philly, North Philly, Northeast Philly, it's all the same.
Are you talking about gangs when you say "block based"?
Block based, gangs, the whole nine. It's all the same. Well, but in Philadelphia now, it's a migration point, like I said before in another meeting we had with the Mayor, and it's gangs coming from other states, like New York, Boston, Baltimore, New Jersey and Delaware, you know. And those people are, you know, a lot of the reasons that the city is the way it is right now. 79 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Talk that through. So they move here from other states, they move to certain blocks and then they recruit?
Yes. It's not that they move here, but either they come and go.
They come, recruit and go. And like I said, I could speak from experience myself, because I wasn't always in Philadelphia my whole life. I was in New York and I was, you know, in tune with the gang situation. And being a part of that, I found out a lot of the things that gangs do, it's different. Like people look at it like it's all about negativity when it's not really about that. But the people that do it now, they look at it because it's being televised and they don't know what they're doing because they think it's a fad now, and everybody just wants to pick up bandanas and pick up guns and start 80 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 shooting at colors when they really don't know what it's about. So basically they just blowing everything out of proportion.
Blood, Crips, Latin Kings, Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, you know, Imperial Gangsters, any gang that you can think of from the midwest to the west coast, all the way back over here to the east coast.
My God. Okay. This is sure an education today for me, that's for sure. We have a group that I really need to get on because they have to leave. We don't want you to go anywhere, but we have to -- we're still going to bring you on, but we have to bring the 81 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 other group on, too.
And I really do thank all you guys for coming in. You don't have to leave, but we have -- (Applause.)
We have Shawn "Frogg" Banks and Rick Kennedy. Shawn is Philly-Wood and Rick is Alpha Media Entertainment Films and David Foster that has a film, a short version of their film called "Close to Death." You can just go on and just begin to talk, and don't forget to state your name and whatnot for the record.
My name is Rick Kennedy, R-I-C-K, K-E-N-N-E-D-Y. I'm CEO of Alpha Media Entertainment. MR. "FROGG" BANKS: Yes. And I'm Shawn, S-H-A-W-N, Frogg, F-R-O-G-G, Banks, B-A-N-K-S, and I'm CEO of 82 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Philly-Wood Entertainment. And my partner and I, Rick Kennedy, in 2005 when we had 380 murders here in the City of Philadelphia, we merged our companies and decided to do a film based on the life-style of not just gangs but gun violence, period. And it was a heartfelt film from when my partner created it, and he came to me because I was in a drug gang real heavy in the early '90s through the JBM era and I was with a gang called the Zooloo Nation, and it took me -- I was kidnapped March 27, 1995. And the thing is, I hear a whole lot of people saying where these guns come from. I'm here to straighten the point, straighten the face with it. It's coming from the government. The government continue to bring these guns in these hoods. (Applause.) MR. "FROGG" BANKS: The thing is, of course, it's a big business in the United States. You can see with the war going on over there, they're not going to 83 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 stop making these guns. (Applause.) MR. "FROGG" BANKS: I had in the possession, I actually had grenades, silences and so forth coming from 3rd and Norris, 5th and Susquehanna. And, of course, we don't make them down there, but I was dealing with business people that was coming into the hood selling these guns. And what we try to portray to these kids, you got to make the right choice. Since we can't stop them from making the guns, we got to get you the mindset not to pick these guns up and show the consequences what a bullet can do to you. (Applause.)
Also, I just want to say that when we was out in the field and talking to a lot of young guys, a lot of the problems come from a lot of arguments, social arguments, being, you know, girlfriend, boyfriend and people 84 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 not getting along. And the problem is also that kids of today do not respect each other nor do they respect authority, as well parents or what-have-you. So also they do not have the knack to strive for something better. You understand what I'm saying? They already settling for less. So the film definitely goes right in your face to tell you the repercussions of what's going on being shot and everything. So you watch the news, you watch the news and somebody had been fatally shot or have gotten shot and you haven't seen the after effects of it. And also, I mean, it plays on him mentally as well as physically, and you have to live through the life after being shot. So, I mean, from that part and from what my partner was saying, there was times that when we was out there filming this film, there was guys pulling up in a car asking if we wanted to buy 85 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 real guns when we was filming it. So guns are definitely there. The gangs are definitely there. And I remember from my time that, like he said, a gang was from like South Philly, West Philly. And I'm from West Philadelphia. There was the Moon gang back then. Young guy that was here talking about Tustin Playground and Haddington. I know them very well. Now you got block to block fighting each other. And they can't get into an argument and say, Okay, I had an argument, to be that. They got to go out and get a gun and now somebody is fatally shot. So the film definitely comes right to you in your face to let you know the problems that we have on the streets, because I think most of the time City Council and the state, they don't know what's going on in these streets, and the young people are definitely crying out and needing help. So that's what we did with the film. 86 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
All right. Good. So we're going to get started? David, did you want to say anything?
My name is David Foster. I play a big role in the movie. I'm also a convicted felon. I was convicted of a firearms charge. But one thing I learned, that I didn't have to carry a gun to protect myself because I believed in God, so I left the guns alone. I tried to do something productive. (Applause.)
I went back to college. At the end of this semester I'll be obtaining an Associate's degree in business. And I'm willing to talk to any of the kids behind me if they want to talk to me about their situation or try to find out the roads that I took and steps that I took to be where I'm at today. 87 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Great. So we're going to see the film. ) MR. "FROGG" BANKS: Basically right there, this was just a sample. In the movie, of course, the whole movie, we get into -- we show gunshot victims, former drug dealers, showing their wounds, telling these kids why it's not cool to come to these streets, the consequences of selling drugs and picking up guns. And what I try to tell the youths these days, instead of ya'll being out on them corners thinking ya'll hustling, we're the one getting hustled, because when you go back to prison, it's modern day slavery. For every time they lock one of us up, they make money off it. So you can fall. Weak to the street, be a follower, gang banging, following the red or the blue, because 88 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 now you fall into the system. It's always a way out. Excuse ain't but an excuse. I was born in a single-parent home. My mother did what she had to do. My father was a hustler. So when I made those choices, I didn't have to -- my grandmother set a good foundation for what we had in North Philly. And that was just an excuse for me to run and look up to the guy on the corner with the big rims, the big money and all these girls. But on the blind side, a gang is a falsified family. They fed me, they clothed me, they gave me money, but when I was incarcerated and I was in that cell all day, none of my friends was there no 19 more. So the bottom line, if ya'll don't wake up right now and hanging on them Chinese stores, take them hoodies off ya'll head, pull your pants up, look another man in the eye and stop falling for these streets, man. 89 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. ) MR. "FROGG" BANKS: Because it's a dead issue. And tomorrow I've been blessed with "Close to Death" to go speak on Capitol Hill with the Exodus Tour with Bill Cosby to speak for the streets, to speak for the youth and my black community and saying we got to help each other, man. It's nobody fault. When I'm walking down the street, I'm not looking for no other race but my own brother trying to rob me these days, and we got to settle our problem ourselves, because right now the jail doors are open, the schools are closing, we got to use this. This got to be our ammunition to our black males. We got to use this. When you're smoking that whack, smoking that weed and you're putting that gun in your hand, you got a falsified power. You think you could rule the world, but that same gun is going to get you locked up. And when you look at that judge, when he smack that 90 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 mallet and give you 50, 60, 70 years and you're away from your family, don't call home ask for no commissary, don't say you need help, because there's so many programs out here right now that we got for ya'll, man, ya'll just got to make a call, ya'll got to be willing. You can't be no followers. And I was in the struggle. I've been there, so I know it's a lot of peer pressure and it's hard for our youth, but we also need the City of Philadelphia, the Councilwoman, just like these young kids just said today, we need recreation centers. We need to be secure where they need somewhere to go where they could play with computers, play ball, whatever. We need a 24-hour hotline where a lot of these kids don't look up to authority, the cops, because like he said, some of the authority are abusing these kids, taking advantage of their position. So we need like a safe house for these kids need to go to where 91 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 they can also come and express their feelings and learn something. And we got to step up as adults and not only tell them but like we did today, listen to them, and we come to a conclusion where we can't give up on one another, because we're all going to lose this battle. And why we did "Close to Death," because we're all one bullet away from close to death. A bullet don't have no names on it.
We could walk out here today or tomorrow and without God, who knows, the next step we take just might be our last. So I just hope and pray that ya'll listen to these organizations, these young guys really take heed and not just use this to say we listening, but do something for them, because they are lost. They're stuck. I mean, this is not like when we grew up. This generation is Generation X. A lot of people is counting them out already before they even get a chance to get started. So I'm going to try to be a 92 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 voice for them and through music and entertainment. ) MR. "FROGG" BANKS: -- a "Stop the Violence" video that we will be doing in February throughout the whole City of Philadelphia with all the hottest rappers in Philly. And we finally challenged these rappers and say, Well, can you please change your lyrics for one song, one song. Because rap music and movies are a big influence on this young generation. They look up to these rappers. They listen to what they say. This music brainwash them. And what we trying to do is, we finally did a "Stop the Violence" song where we could talk their language where they can listen to -- you still can bob your head and dance to something positive and make it happen. And I commend you, Donna Reed Miller, for one of the first 93 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Councilmembers to recognize what we was doing. When we came to you, you commended your hand, you put that ink on that paper, and you definitely a lady of your word, and we need more people of your stature. And we can't just blame the Commissioner. ) MR. "FROGG" BANKS: But get together and help these kids, because we're all crying out and we definitely losing this war. It is not Iraq right now. These young guys are carrying guns, man, and they're wearing bullet-proof vests, and over that hoodie, they are nice, smooth gentlemen, but we just got to clean them up, the outside image, who they really are, and make something happen for them.
I believe one of the things that can help the youth for 94 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 today is education and job opportunities. When I came home from prison, I went to maybe 50, 60 interviews and always got the door shut in my face. I never gave up. I say, Okay, if I can't get a job, then I'm going to go back to school so I can obtain more education and maybe I'll be more marketable as far as the job market. Training programs is something that can help. I have younger cousins and they seem to be coming of age where they want to hang out in the street, and I talk to them a lot. I say, you know, If you don't want to go to college, because a lot of people is not college material, a trade. If you want to be a carpenter, okay, be the best carpenter you can and try to learn as much as possible, so when you do one day have kids, that you can support your family, you won't have to turn back to the streets. Because it's very easy to obtain a gun or get a package of drugs 95 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 and go out there and hit the block. And it's a dead-end road. So I think education and job placement and job training is one way of helping the youths of today.
I agree. I think we're all strong advocates of education and employment and job training. We got to keep young people in school long enough, though, to acquire skills and some competency. And I don't think we have the trades in the public schools anymore, do we? Not what we used to, right.
I would like to introduce a program that me and my partner has been talking about. It's Alpha Media and Philly-Wood. We would like to bring some of the kids in to teach them that it's not always that you have to be a rapper, because I don't know 96 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 if these fellows know, but the rapper is the one that get the lowest paycheck. The executive producer, the director, okay, you have a cameraman, you have a script writer, you have so many opportunities besides just being a rapper or a basketball player or a star drug dealer, as they think they are. So we would like to introduce a program to City Council that we're willing to work to bring some of them kids in and let them know, Okay, here's a camera, you have different types of cameras. There's more opportunities in the entertainment business than just being in front of the camera.
Well, you, David, you may not know -- I know Frogg knows, the Recreation Commissioner in the back knows. Actually, Commissioner, these are the young people that I spoke about that said they wanted to help us with the recording studio that we want to put over 97 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 at one of the rec centers and to teach the entire business, not just to be able to record on a disc or a CD or whatever it is, DVD, but the entire business, as you said. So the Recreation Commissioner is on the back row, and I told him about you guys, Frogg, in a meeting, I believe it may have been, last week. So we can work on that project and get that recording studio up and running. And we're hoping that that's something -- let me ask the audience. If we put a recording studio in a rec center, I'm talking about something professional, is that something young people are interested in? AUDIENCE: Yes. (Applause.)
I want to hear from the young people, though. See, most people that clapped were adults. Because we don't want to waste our money. So what do you think? Tell me. Is that 98 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 a good idea? (Some people yelling "yes, that's a good thing.")
All right. Okay. It's not like we have a whole bunch of money that we can just throw away.
Have you guys been able to cost out that kind of facility as far as a budget and what it would take in equipment and set-up? I'm trying to get an idea of what the number is or what the number would be.
With technology today, you can get a big studio recording budget with a small budget, because you don't have to have the adetts (ph). Everything can be ran through the computers or digital. And the same is for film-making. You don't have to have 99 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 a big $20, $30 thousand camera. You can spend $5,000 to get 24-P technology, which looks great when you put it on the screen.
But is there some way either you or people that you work with could cost out --
And then get back to Councilwoman Miller, and we'll try to figure out a way to get some outside resources.
The only thing that concerns me about a rec center -- and I guess Commissioner Richard would have to talk about it -- is, it's kind of expensive equipment and we'd have to secure it in a way that we wouldn't want to make that investment and have it either stolen or vandalized. You know how rec centers get vandalized from time to time, and if people know it's 100 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 there -- or do you think that people knowing it in the neighborhood and being active in it would keep it protected? MR. "FROGG" BANKS: Well, definitely. If you get them something in each one of them rec centers in their community and like the gentleman said, if we took some of that money that we spending on these officers, extra cops, and all they doing is locking these kids up and not getting rehabilitated, if you put these same amount of funds, because you are talking about saving lives -- it's no value on one person life -- and if you put security around each one of these rec centers in each one of these neighborhoods, you will have a dramatic drop in crime, because for one, you're giving the kids what they look up to, what they listen to and they could feel a part of something. If you secure that place and take care of each rec centers like we take care of our homes, we will have a whole lot of reduction in this 101 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 crime out here.
If you could just do us a favor and try to get that costed out and get it to Chairman Miller, we'd be happy to try to find some other resources. MR. "FROGG" BANKS: No problem. Okay.
Not only that, I think it would be a great opportunity because if the kids are learning, like engineer, an engineer can make easy 50,000 a year. So if there's a child who came through the community center and learn how to do engineering and then took it and went and got a job placement, that's even good.
And engineering and architecture, it's so difficult to find minority engineers and architects, because of all the work that's done now requires some type of set-aside, which is a good thing, it's very difficult to find local minority 102 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 engineers and architects. So that's a void that really needs to be filled from a professional standpoint, because firms are going out seeking those professionals all the time and just can't find them. So that's something else --
It would be a great way to bring back also the sound of Philadelphia as far as Philly being such -- there's so much talent here, where it will be, okay, we took some guys -- these guys back here basically -- and we gave them an opportunity, okay, to learn all these different trades, and it would be more attractive for artists to come to Philadelphia to record as far as all audio or visual.
Thank you. And I want you to introduce yourself to the Commissioner. He's on the back row. He'll put his hand up. 103 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Thank you. Thank you so much for coming in and showing the video. MR. "FROGG" BANKS: Thank you. I'd like to praise and commend, I thank all the young guys out here, man. I know ya'll can do it. Don't give up. Take heed to everything ya'll heard today and let's make it happen, man. (Applause.)
Aaron Spence again. IDAAY is also deeply involved in our community, and these two young ladies came from King and they wanted to represent their school and the issue that's been a topic that concerns them. And we wanted to give them an opportunity to really voice their concerns that's going on in their school.
Yes. My name is Teena, T-E-E-N-A, Robinson, R-O-B-I-N-S-O-N.
Takia, T-A-K-I-A, 104 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Bond, B-O-N-D.
Okay. You can start. Don't forget to speak directly into the mike. Okay?
We are here to address the problem that we're having at Martin Luther King High School with the school police and to be a part of the solution. The problem that we've been having apparently for the past couple years is the brutality and the excessive force used by our school police officials. We went around the school and got a petition. Two hundred and ninety-eight students feel the same way as we do, that maybe we could get the officers to go through more training or sensitivity training or take out the officers who are abusing the students and who are using that excessive force. We went through a couple of 105 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 steps in making this happen. We didn't really know what to do to make this happen actually, but we started with this petition. And the last situation that we thought we wanted to let happen was with a young man who was beaten, was falsely accused. He was beaten by school police. Go ahead.
Basically what she was saying. Like we just, you know, want the solution. We just want things to change in Martin Luther King and every high school. It's probably not just going on in King. There were a couple of students that felt as though, you know, we wouldn't have any type of outcome if we just stayed in school. So we put together a student walkout. It wasn't to cause any wreckage. It was just to get our point across so that the public will also understand where we was coming from and how we felt. We had a walkout, I believe it was, Friday morning at 9 106 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 o'clock, 9:30 where over 200 students participated. It was maybe seen in the newspaper.
The school officials at Martin Luther King, like the administrators, the principal said that this would not work. So we risked a lot of stuff by pursuing this. And we made the walkout very successful, and that was basically just to get our point across, and now we're just trying to get the solution.
Okay. How many children go to Martin Luther King? How many students are enrolled at Martin Luther King High?
I'd like to get a copy. Actually, Martin Luther King is in my district. I didn't know anything 107 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 about it, anything, until I read it in the paper on Friday. So I'm glad you showed up here. In fact, I sent one of my staff people out to Martin Luther King this morning so we could kind of find out what's going on up there. So you want to make sure you give William all your identifying information -- he works for me -- and a copy of the petition. Do you want to give that to us? Do you have your own copy?
Okay. I'm glad you're here, because as I said, I sent someone to your school this morning, because no one had reached out to us. I had no idea really what was going on other than what we read in the paper. So we're very interested in talking to you further about this.
Okay. Thank you for coming. 108 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Councilman Greenlee.
Just quickly. And I, too, did not know much about this or anything about this until I saw it in the paper. I take it you have at some point in time or maybe not you two, but there's been complaints to the principal, to the administration? What has been, if any, answer that you've gotten?
Friday -- I'm sorry. Wednesday there was a situation, and me and another young lady went to the principal and asked her what could we do and what were our rights as far as how far can the school police go with us, and she said just -- she asked me to get proof for her, maybe a statement or actual physical proof that the students were being abused. I then went to someone who I'm 109 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 close to, a teacher that I've known for a couple years that I found to come really close to him, and he told me to fill out a complaint form or something. Basically I went to a couple of people, and it just seemed like it wasn't going to get anywhere. And I wanted this problem to be addressed immediately for the students at King today and the students for the future who will be at King, who will be attending King.
So William is going to get your information and we're going to figure out what are our next steps.
Ma'am, we also just wanted to let you know that our -- the person that we're talking about was not the only person that this has happened to. It's been a lot of students, and many students that's here with us today 110 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 has been through it with the police at our school, including the two that's up here, us two. It's a lot going on at King, but it's not -- we're not sitting here saying that it's the principal or how the school is being ran. Just to let you know that. It's not how the school is being ran. It's just an issue that just need to be solved and resolved.
I think part of the situation is how the school is being ran, because I think when the student -- that when you ask who the principal is at Martin Luther King, half the students don't know. I think the principal should make herself be known, go in the police office when people are being detained or arrested or something and observe what the school officials are actually doing inside there. Because no one goes inside there except for the other school police. And I told our principal that I think that she should show up every once in a 111 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 while to observe what's going on, what's really going on inside that control room.
Also, along with what she was saying, she also said something about sensitivity training, which I agree with. And if it's possible, we believe that it should be another camera inside of control, because like she was saying, after you close those doors inside the police control room, students and no one else can see what else is going on. So it's like it's our word against theirs. What can we do about it if we can't prove it?
Okay. So you're saying you have an actual room in your school that you call the police control room?
Yes, the -- oh, no. 24 The control room does not have cameras in it. It's just where they sit and watch 112 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 the rest of the cameras that's around the school.
All right. Well, we are going to get the information and move forward. As I said, I sent someone up to your school this morning because we hadn't heard anything more than what we read in the newspaper, and we are interested. And I understand your issues around administration, training of security officers. And I'm not clear yet on this camera piece, but we'll talk about it. Okay?
We have some other people that need to get up here to testify. We have Kelly Leggett, 113 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 and Kelly is from -- you can name your organization. I know you have something to do with Oxford Street.
Yes. My name is Kelly Leggett. I'm from Oxford Street Committee. And I was wishing that Councilman Ramos was to stay because our area is his district, him and Darrell Clarke, and I seen them leaving.
Well, he can probably hear you up in the office. We have a system where we can hear the hearings in our offices.
Okay. My organization consists of like a third generation of ex-gang members that never moved from down in the same neighborhood. But it was in July of 2006 that we seen that it was a necessity that some of the people that's from the community who the kids -- who we know it's the kids that are doing the violence, we know their parents. We grew up with their parents. So we seen it sufficient enough for us as 114 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 a group to come back together and form some type of unity in the community. And what had happened, we went to the 8th and Diamond area and down in our area, which is Oxford Street, and we communicated with the parents from up in that area and the guys from down in our area, and it kind of stopped. It's been one shooting since that time, and that's been more of a racial shooting over like the pill seller and the drug seller, you know, and crossing territory. But all the same, I wanted to start off by saying that like we know that God didn't make no junk. " They was like, Look, we ain't going down there, they got warrants, they carry guns on the regular, you know. The question you was asking 115 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 some of these young men about could I get a gun after six tries, you know, these guys -- ain't no six tries. You know what I'm saying? And they are really like a group of young adults, not really kids, that's out there. And they not out there like -- I heard some of the young men identify themself that they got caught with a gun, he was carrying a knife to school. These guys is out there for real. They are really out there trying to survive and doing what they doing. I overheard them in the barber shop talking to each other, and one of them was saying, you know, when it come between us, I'm just going to wait until I get you in jail, because it ain't going to be no guns in jail. And that's how their conversation -- because they was getting a hair cut, they was like neutral, but they were saying, you know, yeah, you big with guns, but I'm going to see you in jail, because they know they 116 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 going. You know what I'm saying? So I just came to try to kind of come to terms with the Council to let them know that like -- there's another group that's not in no programs. I asked the one young man, I said, When I go down there, what could I tell them that you would want from them that could help you change to come out the life-style? He said, You know what? He said, Man, the way that they got the system, I didn't have TB when I got arrested and went to jail, but now that I came home after doing my time, I got tuberculosis and I can't even get medical. I can't even get medical on something that I caught in the state penitentiary, and now I'm back out here and I can't even get medical. I can't get food stamps. The way that they have the laws rigged, if you got a drug violation, there's certain stuff that you don't qualify. So he's saying, How are they 117 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 expecting us to live? We can't fill out applications because when we put it on the application so just to get some relief. I try to get some medical and some stamps. They don't have to give me the money, just some stamps. Because he will work the stamps himself. You see what I'm saying? He said, And I can't even get that. So what direction do that send me to? I'm going back to what I know. He said -- like the young man said, that some of them don't want to be out no more. Some of them don't want to have to wear a bullet-proof vest, don't want to have to do that every day, every morning, you know. So there's a lot to be done. And I'm going to sit here and say that like my life hasn't been perfect, but I know God didn't make no junk. So the ones that like we able -- in my group we have an entrepreneurship class. We put on cabarets. We're putting on a bowling 118 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 affair right now to raise money.
Know what we allow them to do? We allow them to come to our affairs and take pictures, you know. It's like being in a drug life and making money every day. To go and get a job at McDonald's and have to work a whole week to get a paycheck, it just don't register to them. So they might only make a hundred dollars or a hundred and fifty dollars, but to come and take pictures, like to go to the Sixers arena at the game for the Sixers and take pictures and be able to offer people that's there to take a picture, you know, at the Sixers game, that's a way of a source of income for them where they still having cash on hand. They really don't have to -- and the atmosphere is something that they're able to adept to, because that's like drug life, that's like that whole life-style. And eventually, you know, then we have to get them to go over to like programs. Okay, now if you want to go down to the game, 119 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 you know, you're going to have to go to some schooling for us a couple hours a day. That's how we're trying to design it. We're just a new organization that just got tired and said enough was enough, so we got to do something. But when I talk to them and I hear them, this is what they're saying, you know. It's a whole catch 22. They have an apprenticeship -- the City of Philadelphia has an apprenticeship program with the Housing Authority. These guys live in Housing Authority houses, but they're not on no 17 lease. How could their mom or their auntie put them on the lease knowing that he's selling drugs? If you get caught, she's going to lose her house. So he can't qualify for the program because he's in the Housing Authority house but he's not on the lease. Right in our community we have like so much construction. It's like 120 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 between 7th Street on Montgomery to Berks, it's like 53 houses being built from the ground up. On Marshall Street, they built houses all on Marshall Street. It's not one member from our community work there. It's only three African American men and one Spanish man in the whole site that works there. Half the guys is from New Jersey working on the site. So I go to the site. I said, Man, why you can't hire -- I got the company name. The lady tells me that the agreement with the City was six percent female, but because she's the owner of the construction company, she filled that void. I said, How could you fill the void when you the owner of the construction company? She told me this to my face. It's supposed to be ten percent minority. I mean, come on. When you look in your own 121 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 community where you grew up at, right -- I'm putting myself as one of them guys -- and they go and try to ask the men, Look, man, I don't know too much, but I'll do whatever you tell me to do, and the guy say, Well, you got to go to the union hall, and you go to the union hall and the union hall say, We don't got no union book for you because you got to give us $700-and-something to get a union book, man, I'm going back to the street. You know what I'm saying? So I don't know what it is exactly ya'll need, because I seem to feel that not just myself up to the point where I really got involved, some other people in this building is in denial. We know what's going on. I'm going to tell you exactly what's going on. They watching the wire, playing the PlayStation in the basement, smoking blunts, and then when they come out, you, me, whoever is in the way, you better not get smart with them. 122 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 My time era growing up, if it was three of us, the police will get out the car, put us on the wall and shake us down, just search us. If they would just search them with them big hoodies and big sweaters on, then at least they have to hide their drugs. At least they have to hide their gun. And by the time they go to run to get a gun to shoot me, at least I got a chance to run away.
But if they carrying them guns on them and say something smart to me -- this is my last and I'm going to shut up: One day I was at 30th and Berks. It's a Chinese store. And I came out -- I ordered my sandwich, I paid for it and I sitting on the steps smoking a cigarette. Two young guys, look like about maybe 14 to 12, turned the corner. He said, Old head, give me one of them cigarettes. And for the life of me, I said -- I wanted to say, Boy, what's wrong? But something just came over me. I just said, Here you go, youngie, and gave him a cigarette. 123 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Maybe three minutes after that, another guy turned the corner and took a bottle, he like threw it at their feet playing with them. Both of them pulled out guns. When I seen them boys pull them guns out, I said, Thank you, God. I left the food and I just went on home. I'm telling you, something came over me, because I wanted to say something to them, but when I seen them pull them guns out on that guy, I just said, Thank you, God, and I walked on. I didn't even pick up the food. I didn't care about the money or nothing. There's something that we have to do and we're going to have to do it collectively. Not no individual group going to be a miracle, but in our neighborhood, I'm going to tell you, it's been one shooting. We don't know -- I can't take them home. We can't take them home with us, but we got to get them out of the basement. We had a recreation center at 124 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 RW Brown Boys Club. When Katrina hit New Orleans, our community sacrificed our recreation center. When they left, they condemned the building. They took it from us. We had RW Brown Boys and Girls Club on 8th and Cecil B. Moore. It's a familiar recreation center in our community. No one in the community attends there. We have had -- we done a survey for Curtis Thomas. We had recreation 13 centers between Broad Street to Front 14 Street, Lehigh and Girard. We only have 15 three of them that's actively open right 16 now. The same one when you talked about 17 where the three people got shot up there 18 in West Oak Lane, it's 17 recreation 19 centers up there, and that particular one 20 has an ice skating rink right there. And 21 if the City could pay for an ice skating 22 rink for them to skate on, we can't even get our doors open.
Well, that's something that I'm not really 125 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 familiar with. I do know RW Brown Boys Club, though, which is not a City facility, that's private. But that's a good point. And I think that those are things you should talk to those people, like your Councilmembers, about, the specific rec centers. I can speak about the ones in my district that either are open or closed. But I think you touched a lot of excellent points. I also believe that you and your committee of volunteers working with the guys down there on Oxford Street are doing a good job, any time you brought the number of shootings down to just one, and that really wasn't over a personal dispute. But do you really think those two kids would have shot you if you said no to a cigarette? We don't want you to find out. But anyway --
I told you that I'm not in denial. I'm up here. They shooting them for less than that. 126 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Well, that's true. And I think part of it, too, is, you know, adults just don't challenge anymore. When we were younger, you know how the adults in the neighborhood would boss you around like crazy, and what you did was obey whatever they said.
In the time when you're particularly talking about, I remember hearing them say that like it take a village to raise a child. That has never changed, but it's like the gaps that we're creating by even bringing like that type of, you know, stuff to the table, that's when we creating those loopholes. I'm sure that the whole city really means well. I heard the young man mention Bill Cosby. And I remember in the summer it was like when we really got started, I think it might have been like 272 murders, and Will Smith and them came right on time. But at the same 127 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 particular time, we had offered -- they had offered an invitation to somebody else that I hear them talk about, and they didn't show up until like 400. You know what I'm saying? That's like saying like how can we ask them to like talk it out, to like try to do it a different way, when our City Council people really can't sit down together and talk it out and iron it out and they be going at it? You know, it's like a trickle down, like you dropped something in the water and it just kind of like continuously run. I don't know, man. We have to do it collectively, and I believe it's going to get done.
It is a collective and it's a collective of everybody. It's not just your elected officials. It's everybody. Parents, the schools, the community, it's everybody. That's the collective, because too many times people think it's just elected officials, but it's -- when I heard a 128 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 woman say to me she blamed me for her son's death, I said, Wow, something is wrong here, you know. We have to do it as a collective. That's one of the reasons why we're having these hearings, because we want to hear what people are saying. And today won't be our last day of hearings. This is just the beginning, or one of the beginnings. We wanted to hear from young people and people representing young people. The issues about diversity, diversified workforce on construction projects, the issue of recidivism, people coming out of prison and they can't qualify for food stamps, for housing, for all those kind of assistance, a lot of that came from the state, it didn't come from the city -- or really it came from the federal government, a lot of those rules. If someone is not on a lease in public housing, that's also a federal rule about the public housing issue and 129 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 the funding of those programs. And we thought it's a good program for people that reside in public housing when they can enter those apprenticeship training programs and then they get work on those projects that are happening in -- like on the rehabilitation projects that are happening in a lot of the public housing developments.
Maybe could I say it like this, then? There's no program that's not a good program, but when ya'll sign off, do you check back to see like how -- like the program that you just brought up, the public housing, when you signed off on it -- because I'm saying like we came here and said a whole bunch of riff-raff to get you to just give me the paper, but I'm talking about what I'm doing with it after I get it. That's what we need, the follow-up from City Council to make sure that these funds is being used at exactly what they said they was going to be used for. 130 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Well, I've referred people to -- are you talking about PHA apprenticeship, as an example?
I've referred many people to that program, and it works for some. It worked for all of those that stuck with the program. A number of the people that we referred got in and then they dropped out. But it's an okay program. When you say "ya'll," I'm taking it that you mean all the governmental entities?
Right, as a whole. We're not just talking City Council.
No. When you broke it down to feds, you know, I'm saying me, my parents, some of those decisions are the things that we don't have no -- we empower you to look over 131 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 that for us.
I have other people that want to have a turn. And I'm going to contact your friend, because I tell you, they want to sit down, but they wasn't coming here.
Each one of them could have said their name was Donna, it would have been fine. We wouldn't have known the difference.
I'll give it to 132 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 him.
Good afternoon. I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Ronald Ryan from the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network, formerly with the AVRP initiative that was started by the Mayor of Philadelphia.
I'd first like to start off by saying I'm humbled by this opportunity to sit here in front of City Council and speak on behalf of an initiative that I'm very passionate about and that I truly believe in. I brought this young man with me today because he was one of the very first members that I 133 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 took into -- that I was assigned to and is on my caseload. There's been quite a few issues about the gun violence in our neighborhoods, and what I've learned firsthand is that, you know, a lot of what we do and what we say and how we teach and how we raise our kids, it just starts at home. And because this initiative that the Mayor started, this AVRP program, it has allowed me to not only to monitor this young man in his community but in his home, in his school as well. And there's so many different attributes to why the mentality of these young people have diminished to the point where they feel as though they need to act out on violence at every turn. There's a lot of different contributions to that, and I've heard a lot of them today. I have to say that, you know, because I do go out and make home visits with these young people, that I'm finding 134 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 out that like the services that's needed in the home is like of grave necessity right now. There are a lot of missing services in the home. There are a lot of things that the parents don't have at their disposal, either because they don't know how to access it or because of the other social issues that might be plaguing that household, you know. These kids are coming out of the homes with survival mentalities. They're going out into the streets, into the schools feeling as though like, you know what I mean, they got to survive, because they not getting what they need at home. And then, you know, I come from a background where I had two parents, but at the same time, you know what I mean, there's a level of dysfunctionality I think in every situation. It's all about how you view it. But I can benefit from the fact of knowing that like I made some bad choices, and when I made these choices, 135 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 you know, instead of me being on the road to where I could consider myself a success by society's standpoint, I turned out being a success in another way, because my experience has allowed me to work with these youth. My on-the-street experience has allowed me to understand and have my finger on the pulse of what these young people are really needing today. And that's why I said I'm humbled by this experience. There's a lot of things I didn't know about when I got this job, but I knew I just had a passion to see some people make it. I didn't want to leave no child behind, and I was tired of seeing kids dying out here in the streets. So I didn't have a whole lot of experience and no degrees and all that, but I had a degree in the streets. So I could talk to these kids and I could address some of these issues that they're going through and I can help their parents and understand like I'm the link 136 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 that's going to have to put you with the sources that you need in the community, and my job at PAAN had gave me the opportunity. So Tyrk is one of the kids that I'm so proud to have been able to have helped, because -- well, he can tell you his story, how he came to AVRP. And Adolescence Violence Reduction Partnership is what the initials stand for, because we felt the need and the Mayor, along with other agencies, felt the need to address the kids at an earlier age, which I heard was mentioned earlier. And between the ages of 10 and 16 are the kids that I'm directly dealing with. These kids were targeted. This age group was targeted because we found out that like if we catch them early, then we can prevent some of these kids being adults turning up into the system.
We feel like if we could catch these kids early and put their mindsets in a different frame of mind, give them 137 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 alternatives to negative behavior, that we could possibly like just put a stop to them becoming adult perpetrators and adult victims. So that's all I really wanted to add. I'm a little -- I sat here and absorbed a lot of things today, and I'm grateful that we had this opportunity and I feel good about it, and it's a lot I want to say, but it's not my forum today. It's for them. So I'm going to let him talk. And thank you for listening.
Thank you for your testimony. Please before you start just identify yourself for the record.
Well, the way I got to AVRP was, I used to go a military high school, and when I was going there, me and a couple of my friends, like when I was coming in through the door like security, I ain't have nothing with me, 138 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 but I knew I couldn't get myself on there, so I gave it to one of my mans to get through the front door. So he had stopped myself on that. They thought it was something else. So I get to the lunchroom and like one of my other mans, he gave me his book bag. I forgot -- well, I never knew it was a gun in there. So when he passed it to me --
Yeah. So when I got my cell phone and stuff, I sat down. He gave me the bag. And the security came 139 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 through because they saw me give him -- well, the person a bag. They thought I sneaking something in, which I was. That was a cell phone. So when I got there, they came downstairs and they told me come with them and bring all the bags with me. So when I got caught, I was locked up for possession of a weapon, and that's how I got to AVRP.
You applied for there and got accepted, okay. And how were your grades? How were you doing 140 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 at the time?
I understand because the School District is run differently now because the state took it over, so there's certain rules and regulations they impose, but you couldn't go back to where you were at the military school?
I'm not out of CEP yet. They had kicked me out and I wind up in CEP.
So when are you eligible to go back, if you could go back?
I don't know. I 141 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 just started in September. I'm supposed to be getting out in June.
And you were doing well at Elverson, you were doing well at the military academy?
I mean, it goes back to some of the rules and regulations that we follow relative to sentencing. I mean, it's a five-year mandatory minimum with a gun. It's an immediate mandatory expulsion. I mean, when you have a young man who is getting A's and B's, I'd recognize he'd have to deal with his issue and stand up for what he did, but to be in CEP after that makes -- there's no real benefit long term to that, because CEP --
No. You're right. CEP is not a situation where he can thrive from. However, because he was doing well in the military academy, he's made the honor roll already.
Yes. So he's maintaining his ability to do what he needs to do, and it's going to make him eligible for other high schools. Now, he went to the High School Expo and applied for other high schools. Now, when he's finished the 180 days that he's required to do, you know, he's eligible to reenter the School District of Philadelphia high schools.
What's the environment like? What's your experience there every day? What's it like?
It's like basically nothing to me. Like when I go there, I just do me and I leave.
Just do 143 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 your work and you're on your way out of there. Now, when you're done school, you attend the program?
So you have homework help and computer access and things like while you're there?
Yes, at the program. Well, it seems like you kind of dodged the problem and are on your way back to keeping it together and doing well, either at the military school or someplace else. Do you have interest in the 144 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 military or you just signed up for that school because what reason? Did you have --
I just feel as though it was more like discipline for me, like keeping me out of trouble. That's why I applied for there.
Do you have an interest in the military or you just went there for the discipline?
Well, good luck. I hope you get back into wherever you want to go. That's a great career. I would look at the Navy right now as opposed to some of the other branches until we get out of this mess, until we're out of this mess in Iraq. But good luck. Nice meeting you.
Good afternoon. My name is Rita Wheelings. I work for 145 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 PAAN as an AVRP youth worker. These are two of my students that I'm very proud of. I have three, but the third is sitting behind me. But these two young ladies here have a lot of potential. I enjoy working with them. I also do home visits. I've watched them make remarkable progress. The one on the far end will tell you her story and the progress that she has made in this program as well as changing in behaviors. That was the reason why she ended up in the program. I'm not even going into the history of anything else. I just want you to listen to these two young ladies.
Quadirah Lott, Q-U-A-D-I-R-A-H, L-O-T-T. I got sent here for aggravated assault. Me and Mika right here, we was in the store and -- what store?
No. I 146 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 didn't ask you, but you can tell us if you want.
A clothing store. We was in the store and the lady was arguing -- her and Mika had a conflict, so I went over there to see what all the commotion was about. When I went over there, them two was fighting. So I tried to break it up. Someone was swinging on me, so me and the other lady started fighting. And we got locked up that day and I got sent here. But I got out of AVRP because of good behavior. And what I really wanted to talk about was the school I go to, CEP. I just found out yesterday that you can't graduate from that school. So like if I stayed there until 12th grade, I can't graduate. And I don't want to be in there. I want to get out. I want to go to a graduation. I want to have a prom. We can't have any of that in that school, and they just making this rule this year. And he said like you only got to do 182 147 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 days. They tell you that, but it's a small percentage that he going to get out in June, because they like -- it's real -- they don't tell you that they're real strict, but they're real strict. Like the littlest thing, they make you stay in there for a whole other year. And now I can't -- like they trying to say that you can't graduate from that school. So I'm just trying to get out of that school and do the best that I can. But it's a lot of distractions in that school, like everybody trying to be tough, everybody trying to prove a point. So I'm just trying to get out.
No; Westminster, 43rd and Westminster. I go there because, again, when I went to Vare, I was fighting.
So you 148 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 had a lot of fights and they sent you to CEP?
No. I had one fight and they sent me to CEP. I had one fight in the school and they sent me to CEP.
I've been there ever since 7th grade. I'm in the 9th right now.
I went to CEP. I went to the one in Texas before they opened any of them here in Philadelphia. Some of us went down there to take a look at the model. That's state funded. The state reps actually wanted that program here in Philly. I'm surprised that you're still there after two years.
The last gentleman that testified said it was 180 149 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 days.
My name is Mika Gilbert, M-I-K-A, G-I-L-B-E-R-T. You have to be there, behave and be learning, but some people, like my friend Champell, she been there for four years and she come to school every single day and she still hasn't been out. I got there January 3rd and I come to school every day. I got a 96.8 attendance. I'm on honor roll, and I got -- my behavior is 2's and I still think I'm not going to get out by February.
You go to 150 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 CEP also?
Okay. I don't know. We have to check that, because I just didn't think anybody would be in CEP for four years. You said you have a friend that's been there for four years?
And I think last year one of the schools did do something, because someone from there called me and asked me to help them. It has something to do with senior activities, because I thought -- did Front Street have their first graduation last year?
I don't know if 151 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 it was their first, but they did have a graduation and they did have a prom. But they got together with Allegheny CEP.
Yeah, because you can't graduate from that school. They're not letting nobody graduate or nothing, no proms, no nothing. And that's what like I go to school for, to graduate.
Do you mind me asking what you want to do when you get out of school?
I want to be a 152 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 lawyer.
Good. All right. Great. Because sometimes I ask my kids and they go, I don't know. I don't know what I want to do. At least you guys have some idea what you want to do. So good luck.
And she hasn't had a chance to tell her story. So this is Mika Gilbert.
Mika, M-I-K-A. She told the story already. Aggravated assault. We was in the store and the lady put her hands in my face, and I hit her and we started fighting.
I got out of AVRP for good behavior, though. 153 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
But you just come back because you like it so much, don't you?
The reason why she's still -- she's discharged. She was discharged for good behavior. So she has no attachment to AVRP. However, she and I have stayed in contact with each other. And there's no sense in having a child in the program just because they completed it, you leave them alone and you don't check on them. So she and I formed a relationship. Matter of fact, in order to come here today, she spent a night with me. So we at AVRP, we look at our students as a part of our family. So they're not even students. I don't even classify them as students. They're part of my family. So as a whole and as usual, we come in contact with each other. I call them up. I go to their schools. I check on them. 154 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 I have another lady behind me, Ms. Lavello, who was a little bit shy. But these are my children. They're an extension of myself. So it's just more than a program. It's trying to really, really help these young ladies and to watch them grow and to mature and to see the potential that they have, because as you can see, they speak very well, and her wish is -- she really wanted to come, Councilman Miller, for you to get her out of CEP. She said, I'm going and I want to speak to her because I want her to get me out of CEP. She's actually an A, B student. So is she.
I don't want to know your address, but where do you live?
Both of them live in South Philly. 155 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Okay. Fine. I'd be happy to have you talk to my staff, too. I'm an at-large member, but I live in South Philly, so it's kind of like we're all --
I live at 11th Street, 11th and Tasker. Where are you guys at?
Well, I'll tell you what, when you leave here, if you want to go to my office and see Wilhelmina, she'll get all your information. We'll at least check out 156 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 what's going on. Okay?
My name is Martez Cooper, C-O-O-P-E-R, with the CRP Program, Children Rights, founder, and I'm here to speak a little bit of my mind about what I heard today and really what I know about the violence that is going on across the city with our juveniles. And me being a father and a grandfather and running the CRP program, there's a lot of things that's being brought to my attention on the level of violence, end the violence, where I don't think it was really touched on today at all on a large scale as far as the games, the video games. It's like unimaginably a part of 157 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 the problem, and I don't understand with so many professional people in America, period, as far as the psychiatrists and the professors at the colleges, black colleges and so on, with the studies that's coming out, I don't understand why these games has not really been brought to the forefront. It's a very bad, bad problem with the games. Of course, I know that you know that the case of the young man in -- Swayneiffer (ph) Jefferson who threw his baby and killed his baby over the games not too long ago, maybe like two months ago when the baby got tangled up in the cord and he jumped up and beat her to death. There is major cases going on across the country, even on the Supreme Court level, where people have took lawsuits out on these game providers, and I think that it really should be looked at a little more strongly in Philadelphia.
Why do 158 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 you call them video gangs? What is that?
My name is Abdul Muhammad. What he's trying to say is basically like you got to understand, 50 Cent's game, you get points for selling crack, you get points for killing people. Grand Theft Auto. They have games out there that basically they train the U.S. Army and the Navy to actually kill people with that our children have right here and now. And it's not only the games, it's the entertainment industry, it's the rappers. You know, it's the families not 159 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 having proper guidance from your mother and your father. It's a whole situation that works in the profit of big business at the loss of basic poor people here in America. And it's like people know that, when you think about anything, that poverty breeds crime. And when you put a gun in somebody's hand and when you put crack in their hand and you actually solidify it and you promote it, it's saying, look, it's cool to go kill somebody. It's saying, look, it's cool to sell drugs. And it's not cool to actually not think that way. That's what it's saying to our youth. It's a basic conspiracy. I am a youth, and this man right here basically took me from being at risk to being an influence to other younger adults, because if I didn't have him, my father, Abdul Azim Muhammad, which was the Director of the Brewerytown CDC, along with Darrell Clarke, basically, you know, he left me astray. 160 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 I didn't have anything. And he left --
And then we hear Darrell Clarke and Azim Muhammad write an article that --
Excuse me. Excuse me. We didn't come here to -- I know Azim and --
Okay. But I'm just saying but then when we have them to make statements in the paper, not only them -- and we didn't come here to bash them neither, but when we have them to make statements in the paper as of what they do for the youths in the City of Philadelphia, that's a disgrace to even sit there and even say anything like that.
Because when Azim Muhammad, for one, got his own kids that he don't even take care of.
I don't think you stated your name for the record, did you, Azim's son? 161 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
For the record, I'm his brother, Azim's brother. Same mother, same father. I'm also on the CDC, Brewerytown, Secretary, Martez Cooper. But I also run the children's program besides that. We're not going to get into that. This is about kids. And I wonder why --
-- it wasn't more publicized about this meeting, you know, and other kids like where we could have brought in other kids from the streets. It was like programs that was brought into this situation.
I don't understand 162 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 that.
Well, I'm glad you did see it on the news, and other people probably saw it, too. Like I said before, this is not the first and it won't -- it is the first, but it won't be the last. We will have plenty of opportunity for anybody that wants to come and talk to be able to do that. So now that we know who you are and we can get your name and number so that when we have our next hearing. But it is on TV. City Council is required by law to do public advertising of public hearings. So it's been in the newspaper. My office, we didn't do a personal mailing to lots of groups because we knew it just wouldn't be that kind of time, but we did reach out to AVRP, we reached out to PAAN, we reached out to Integrated Town Watch, we reached out to Don't Fall Down 163 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 in the Hood. And those are the only groups we actually reached out to.
Well, the reason why I said that was because I have been trying my best to, you know, present not a plan and not just about the violence, because we all know about the violence, and we could go over and over and over and over again, but we still going to have more murders and we still going to have more guns on the streets, and we all know where they coming from. And for everybody to sit around and just -- it really disgusts me when grown people sit around and just act as though that we got to ask these questions from these kids that they really answer theyself. And then on top of that, like when are we going to get to the solutions? If the city can't handle the violence that's going on, when are we going to shut the city down and maybe call in the National Guards or whatever? This is ridiculous how many murders that we have this year 164 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 alone already. We have six murders in four hours in one day, and it's got worser ever since then. When do it stop? You know what I'm saying? Where do it stop? And this is what we saying in our communities and every community across the city, because we work with the whole city. It should not just be one program director to one -- this is a major problem that we talking about, our kids.
And we're losing them. I mean, the schools is like hell, and we know this. And there's no money going towards nothing that's helping our youth, and, therefore, other programs that come in and other people to use the pain of the youth that's dying across our city and come out and make statements about our community, it got to stop, because we're not going to stop until it 165 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 do stop. And if the city -- and if the President of the United States can't stop it, I think that the people are going to have to stop it theyself. And that's the only reason why the democrats is in there now, is because the people have to come out and put some type of stop to what's going on in the White House. And it's trickling down into our local government, and it's bad, and we not having it no 12 more. We not going to sit and just be walked around and act like we going to do something and everybody going to get this and they going to walk away with this money and this program walk away with this money and all these officials or whoever. I don't want to bash nobody, because that's not what it's about. We already got the Mayor and the District Attorney beefing at each other like gangster rappers, so I'm not going to sit here and do that. But we know what's going on, and it's bad, and it's not 166 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 stopping. The people are screaming. They can't even come out of their house. There's a rape on one end of my block, there's a rape on the other end of my block. I can't walk to the Chinese store. My kids can't walk to the Chinese store. When they do and I take them around there, the Chinese store sells them everything that they need. When they was talking about the "Stop Snitching" T-shirts was the problem in the city, the Chinese was selling them. Everybody know where 5th Street at, 5th and -- they selling them all up and down there. But that's not the problem. The T-shirts don't kill people. People kill people. And if we keep going around the problem and not dealing with it by playing games with these little programs, you see what I'm saying -- yeah, they might help some youths. We got thousands of youths out here that's not eating at all, don't even have heat in they house. 167 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 You know what I'm saying? And how far do we go with this? We need to shut these game stops down, because they're just as bad as crack houses. That's what I came here to say. We definitely need to shut them down.
Game, game, game, game stops. Stop and go's, game stops, they all the same. And that's where the violence is coming from. If everybody acted in this city and this country acted like they don't know, I'm going straight to Congress with it. We need to stop these games. The games is programming our kids. If the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Marines is using the games to train the soldiers to kill, what are they doing to our kids? Why do we have 400 168 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 murders this year and New York had 600? That's a thousand murders in two cities. How many other cities and counties and states do we have across this country? Clevo and Dillon from the church called Mafia in Colorado played the games, and we all know about the games. But the corporations is running our city and not our city officials, and that's how we look at it. The corporation has got the upper hand. Nobody is saying nothing to them at all. We know where the guns is coming straight of Colosimo's right there on -- right here. It hardly needs a license. You go to any gun show and get any gun you want, AK 47's or whatever. And they there. Every kid got a gun almost. Every other kid got a gun. I'm going to say that much. Trust me. And if ya'll don't believe it, I can show it to you. That's where we at. It's not about no games no more. We got to really deal with this problem. And if the city 169 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 can't deal with it, then we think that ya'll should call in the National Guard and shut the city down. The FBI just said yesterday that Philadelphia is one of the worst cities for violence and told the black men to watch their back. This is from the FBI.
We didn't hear from the President because he's not going to say nothing.
He's busy cutting everything that we need to be able to handle this problem. And if ya'll don't handle him, we're going to handle him, too. And we are the people.
I have something 170 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 to say, though. Basically my point is this: I have no faith -- no disrespect to anybody up here right now, but I have no faith in you. One thing, because my father is connected with this whole City Council, this whole city government up to Governor Rendell. And basically I've seen my father -- I had a conversation with him talking about taking neighborhoods. Ya'll don't want to stop the violence, because meanwhile while the violence is going on, our neighborhoods are getting taken away from us. It's not just in Philadelphia; all across America. This is --
This is a 171 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 situation that's been influenced. And I know you want to say thank you. I know you want to say --
No. I'm not saying that. This is not an opportunity nor a forum to come and talk about your dad. Now, if you guys have issues --
-- that's okay, but today we want to hear from young people. We want to ask their questions.
But this 172 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 is not an opportunity for that.
Because 7 you took up all the time. How about 8 that? 9
It doesn't fit 14 that doctrine. And I'm a youth who can 15 see. I'm a youth that knows this. Just 16 like Councilman Kenney said, that I'm 17 glad you changed because you decided not 18 to carry guns no more, it was no -- it's 19 no problem with none of these youths. It's a problem with ya'll, the parents, the adults, who are not doing anything about this situation right here and now. And I know that, because I am a youth who lived through this, who has been on the streets, who has been out there and had 173 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 no guidance, from not my father, not my mother, not from any adults in school. They didn't care. They just wanted to kick me out.
It's a widespread epidemic, because this is the problem. This is not a problem with all of America. That is a problem mainly with black and brown youths. And the reason why it's not stopping, because it is because of black and brown youth. They don't want it to stop. They want to influence this situation. They don't want black and brown youth to become anything. Where these guns coming from, where are these drugs coming from? During prohibition you had illegal removal of alcohol. They stopped 174 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 it because the majority of the people committing those crimes were white. They're not legalizing drugs. They're not. Because we're the ones dying over it and going to jail over them. No one cares.
The solutions that we got is to shut down the game stops, at least start working on looking at your wars, the fact of the games being a problem. Because until you accept that as a problem, it will never even be looked at, and in the mean time, in the between time, we're training serial killers, we're training child molesters. And that's why you have so many rapes. How much have the rapes went up in Pennsylvania in the last few months? They are raping people on the games.
We have to wrap this up. We have a couple more people to testify. 175 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
I have a meeting that I have to get to. Ma'am, do you want to testify there?
We have to actually sit down and have a meeting where we can come in with our package and bring a solution.
You could have brought a package in today. You could have left it today.
Well, like I said, I seen it on the news, so I wasn't really aware of it today.
We'll talk to you after -- 176 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
The solution lies within the black community being independent and not being exploited. That's the bottom line. That's the solution.
Okay. Thank you. Mr. Johnson and, ma'am, do you want to testify?
Madam Chair, I thank you kindly for this opportunity and for your colleagues. My name is Carin Hall. That's C-A-R-I-N. I'm from the Third Ward, 21st Division, and like many here, I was not aware or privileged to be contacted in advance. I'm here today to represent several elements in brief. One, a school 177 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 teacher who could not be here by the name of Bernard Miller started up a program called "No Gun Play" for radio shows, and last year in his first effort with "No 6 Gun Play" request weekends for broadcasters, when he went to Clear Channel, he was told, Who's supporting your "No Gun Play" petition? And he didn't have anyone. So I came along with three organizations that I run. I have a Philadelphia Think Tank. I have another group of constituents concerned about violence that meets every Sunday afternoon for two and a half hours, the telephone bridge conference calls and in person at Union 332 International. And I have another group that works diligently with new directions for people who have had social barriers who did not receive their education. While the focus may be on youth, we have a population who did not receive the education that you and I may be privileged to. Today I come forward to you to 178 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 announce officially that "No Gun Play" weekend must be enforced by you and your colleagues. In fact, the petition -- because I did not have a chance to do a formal package, I'm just going to leave you the press release that Bernard Miller had put together. He's working at the School District of Philadelphia as a substitute teacher. We know that there are social barriers and economic barriers that keep us in the position that we're in, but this last witness was true, we do need to look at games and media, the media position when it comes to corporations. C. Delores Tucker died with this in mind and it's incumbent on us to continue: We want to build citizens, not criminals. Thank you.
Thank you. You can just bring it up here if you want. Thank you.
Hello, 179 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Councilwoman.
I'm sorry to hold you up. I know you have a lot of important things to do.
For the record, my name is Stephen Johnson, Jr. I'm currently the Assistant Sergeant-At-Arms for City Council. This is a very sensitive topic to me and this is the only reason why I actually came up here to speak. First of all, I would like to say that my grandfather, who is the Philadelphia Police Commissioner, Sylvester Johnson, has done numerous things for the community as far as outreach programs to the youth, and all I can say is, I think we need to have a liaison between the police and the youth, someone, even myself, I will say. I'm 180 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 years old. I'm at the age where I can communicate with adults and also youth. I am hip hop. I have numerous accolades, and I don't really want to get into that, but I have one thing to say about that. Hip hop culture is not a criminal culture. I know a lot of people look at us as being hip hop and being criminals. They see us with the baggy pants, hat turned to the back and probably look at us as, you know, criminals, but it's not even like that. I think that we need to embrace hip hop's youth, because the youth is our future. We need to have, I believe, a ten-point plan with the leaders of hip hop and some of the elected officials so we both can get on the same plan, ten points for the leaders of hip hop and elected officials. Elected officials can say, Well, these are ten things that I can do or we can do in order to better the communication and better the lives of our youth in the community, and also the 181 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 leaders of hip hop can say, Well, these are ten things that we can do that can make your job much more easier. I have an artist in mind, KRS-1, who is one of the leaders of hip hop. I also believe that we need to have more funds for programs that are out there. Also, we need to have more access to information. I know we have our Daily News, we have Channel 10 or 6 or whatever, but we need another way in order to communicate to get this message out there. I know the politicians, they can -- when it's time for election time, they put a lot of things in the mail and send those packages off in order to get the information what they need for votes, petitions and anything. I think we need to do something for the youth as far as getting involved and getting that out there, the message out there. I believe we need more hip hop activities. There's an emcee right now that is nationally known. His name is 182 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. " Well, I don't believe hip hop is dead. I believe hip hop is actually calling out to survive, and I believe that some of these officials might be able to help us do that by giving us more free concerts. That might be an avenue or something that you might look into, free concert for the youth. Also, they say that we're a criminal culture, but our culture is based on these four principles, which is peace, love, unity and having fun. That's basically what we're about. I'm not up here speaking for anybody else, but I am speaking for myself when I say that. Rap is something that you do and hip hop is something that you live, and I am a product of hip hop. I'm a member of an organization called the Temple of Hip Hop. org that anybody can get information. 183 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Also, my own organization that I'm currently starting is called the Hip Hop League of Excellence, and that is going to be a Philly-based organization to try to get some of these youth off the streets and to make them more aware of certain things that's going on in the community. I know that a lot of people out here that don't have money, they don't have jobs, they don't have opportunities, but there are some things that they can do to make themselves more productive in this world. I myself have been homeless. I've lived in the streets of Los Angeles trying to pursue my dream and to live hip hop, and it was one thing that I've done. When I was homeless, what I did was, I sold my own CDs.
I think that more people need to have that information or need to know how to do that, how to walk up to someone and how to create a business opportunity. Because when you sell a CD, you're selling your music, 184 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 you're promoting your music, you're making a connection with someone and you're also getting money in your pocket. Now, if we can have an actual program, even a DVD, to show youth how to do that, that can be very lucrative for that individual and people to come. I know, like I said, time is of the essence. I have my co-workers looking at me like, Mr. Johnson, can you please stop talking right now, and I know everybody wants to go home, but like I said, this is a very sensitive topic to me, and I thank you for your time and thank you for everything that you've done, Ms. Reed, for the community. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for coming in. Are you with the Archye?
Yes, IDAAY, right. He's the Chair of the board. 185 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 You testified. You have something else to say?
Yeah, just less than two minutes. One of the things I wanted to bring out is, a lot of talk was about the recreation centers. I'm actually down at the recreation centers, some of them, and we need them to be upgraded. I mean, not just the security and stuff, but they need to be upgraded. There are rats and mice running around in there, stuff like that. So if you're going to invest in it, you got to invest in those, too. The other thing is the President, I need to say, is -- you need to -- I mean, you always can come down, talk to the youth. No better way than listening to them in their own environment and seeing that their parents are on drugs and things like that and they're selling drugs and the reality of what's going on. And the last thing is, as IDAAY 186 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 President, the way that the funds come down, talk to Archye about what we can do, because a lot of the stuff that we're growing in, you got like -- the Institute of the Development of the African American Youth is serving all the youth throughout the city, and it's just taking everything that we can to keep it running. And a lot of the contracts come in a lot slower. I know you guys are doing all that you can, but when those contracts don't come in, it's real people who devote their lives that I have to look in the eye and go, I can't pay you this week, I got to wait until next week. So you can probably talk to Archye about what we can do about shoring up the contracts, making sure that they get -- once we submit them, that they get it in time, because I'm sitting here right in front of it. So that's all I wanted to say. Some of the things I can talk to you about. I'm in the personal level, if you 187 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 want to as well.
All right. Well, as I stated before, this was the first but it won't be the last hearing or opportunity for people to talk. There were some people who said they didn't know. This was not a hearing to hear about a whole lot of programs all over again. This was a hearing to hear from our children. And that's what we want to do. We want to personally come down to the program and talk to the children more. The City of Philadelphia and many rec centers need additional work, and we understand that. I can tell you all the rec centers in my district that need work. I'm not familiar with a lot of those that was mentioned today, but I guess if we had a wish, if we had a dream, one would be to have the money to do all that we could do to get these rec centers up.
And I know the 188 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 youth that talked today, and this was a great start. We thank you for it, but there's nothing like seeing them in their own environment and their own clothes and stuff like that, and we have an open invitation to visit any of our programs, sit down and listen to what they are. They're able to free themselves up a little bit more and you will actually get to see them. So we just extend --
We probably understand a lot more about the environment that these children live in than you realize. I don't live in some little --
Thanks for 189 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 listening to our young people.
Okay. Thanks. Thank you. This Committee is recessed to the call of the Chair. Thank you. (Committee on Public Safety adjourned at 4:20 p.m.) - - - 190 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on January 30, 2007, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)