So you get the girlfriend to buy it. MR. McCANN: Get the girlfriend to buy it. And as I told Councilman Jones in another conversation that we had, most of those are not mass purchases. They're not purchasing four DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 or five guns at a time. They're purchasing one gun or two guns at a time. So it's really labor intensive, because you're talking about a real small number of purchases. The Councilman was right on the money, there's no truck that's pulling up in an area of the City and opening the back of it and people are dealing guns out of the back of a truck. Most of the illegal gun trafficking is done at a small level. But it is a priority. I mean, you make a good point, it's something that's important to do, but the profile of the defendant is going to be usually a woman, a young woman, who is in a relationship with a defendant with a record. A lot of time there's domestic violence involved. I mean, there's a lot going on in those cases all the time.
Or she can just be the young lady that's in the neighborhood that wants to be down with DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 the crew and this is what she does, from just kind of observing it up close and personal. But I wanted to put that out there, because the other component and just growing up in South Philly and getting a chance to kind of see how we're still dealing with the issue of violence since I've been a young man until -- now I'm actually an elected official, and I've watched how the levels of artillery went from revolvers during the late '80s and the early '90s and to now we do some gun buybacks, right? And I wasn't always a big fan of a gun buyback. I thought it was cute, because you say, Bring me your gun and I'm going to give a coupon and you go get something to eat or some Christmas toys, until I had hosted a gun buyback in South Philly. Some of the artillery, I didn't see -- some of the artillery that I've seen like up close and personal, like, Oh, okay, you know, this is less guns that are out on the DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 street. And even if it's a .357 revolver from 1988, if it's a Taurus or any other type of .357 or a magnum, they still can do some damage, and even the .22 can that's a revolver. But I do know and I clearly understand, that's something I'm paying attention to. I'm glad when the City decides to -- House Bill 1523, which is trying to strip the City from having an opportunity to have to go after individuals who somehow lose their gun and they wind up in somebody else's hands, that that stays on the radar as a part of the equation. Because to me, all the components need to be addressed, and specifically you can't just lose a gun and all of the sudden the gun -- the same way even if I'm an elected official, if somebody takes my car and runs somebody over, the police are going to come to my house. They're going to say, Well, Kenyatta Johnson, it was your car, you'd better come up with some type of DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 explanation as to who was driving your car that committed this actual action. I think the same thing applies to individuals that carry -- individuals somehow lose their guns. And, no, I'm not infringing on anyone's right to carry a gun. I mean, I get it, but at the end of the day, from a realistic perspective, you know, for me to see a 16- or 17-year-old or 12-year-old or hear about them or like a six sort of like walking around, how do you get that? It's kind of unheard of, you know. And so that's just something I'll be interested in following up with the Administration on, the DA's Office from a supportive standpoint as a Councilman to see how do we move forward and making sure that that part of the issue is addressed as well. MR. McCANN: Very good.
Thank you, Councilman. And I just want to say you're DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 right about something, John. We need to put our money where our mouth is. We've closed gun court. As Councilman Johnson talked about, I think the last Goods for Guns in Philly is scheduled this year, because they ran out of money. And the Nuisance Task Force that used to be used to go into these troubled bars where we found these illegal guns and other activities has been disbanded. We really, as a body, need to take close account of where we are prioritizing our resources. And public safety is job one. You cannot do economic development if a merchant's afraid for their life. And so I thank you both for what you have provided, and it is food for thought for us. Thank you very much. MR. McNESBY: Thank you.
We are going to conclude this. Are there any other individuals here that wish to testify? (No response.)
com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 out by saying that last year there were 674 shootings -- not murders, shootings -- that did not result in death, and many of them aren't as dramatic. People go about their lives after the injury, but sometimes loss of job, loss of income, loss of the fear of life and limb. These are serious problems that we want to work in partnership with the District Attorney's Office, in partnership with the Police Department, in partnership with the courts to solve, and we are going to as the Public Safety Committee take this very seriously. It was alluded to that Reyna Alonso, the lady that was murdered by a gentleman that was out on probation, low bail, gun conviction before, and I can name names like Keisha Palmer in my district that did nothing more than drop her children off after work, picking them up from the daycare and was murdered by an illegal handgun. com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 Joel Blumer, who was a merchant at 26th and Allegheny and was killed, shot twice this weekend. If you look at the weekend homicides -- and I watch teenagers who tell me they don't want to look at the news anymore because it is depressing to them. And somehow we as a society have become desensitized to the violence in our street. I grew up on westerns, and I wanted to be a cowboy when I grew up, just not in the City of Philadelphia. When we look at this and its impact on us and think about the people who are being murdered, I want you to know -- and I'll close on this -- that all life is precious, whether it's in Center City or in South or West Philadelphia. You see, the salient count in a tear is the same whether it's shed in Center City, on the streets of our neighborhoods, and we are going to take that more seriously. com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 if they were visitors to the City of Philadelphia, it would make national news. If visitors coming to the Convention Center for a conference on toothpaste were gunned down in the streets, the National Guard would be brought in here, full attention of all forms of government would be brought to bear. But people die in neighborhood streets each and every day. And what scares me most is that we've become insensitive to the loss of life. And I will tell you this: We join our Mayor on calling out some of these thugs that think that it's okay to gun people down, but we also call out those people responsible in positions of authority to make those decisions to make our streets safe, and bail is one of those conditions that do that. Let me say this to you: We're going to be paying attention. And, no, we don't have authority to change state laws. com 3/7/12 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 120072 change gun laws. But we do have two things: the bully pulpit, which we've demonstrated today, and the budget, which we will demonstrate over the next couple of months. The call of the Chair of this Committee on Public Safety will stand at recess. Thank you. com 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 March 7, 2012, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. -------------------- MICHELE L. com 90s 109:14