Guest Editorial: A shift to common sense on crime in Philadelphia

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, right, accompanied by Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, center, speaks during a news conference in Philadelphia, March 11. — AP Photo/Matt Rourke When Mayor Cherelle Parker and Police Chief Kevin Bethel released their plan to improve public safety in Philadelphia it marked a much needed shift in direction in addressing crime in the city. For years, some local officials advocated polices that have resulted in a less rigorous enforcement and prosecution of laws required to keep career criminals off the streets and the public safe. For years, the Kensington section of Philadelphia has been allowed to become a large open air drug markets with addicts openly using fentanyl, heroin and other dangerous drugs in broad daylight and people defecating in the street. & This overly permissive approach to enforcement and prosecution is the result of well-intentioned national movement on criminal justice reform that in practice is sometimes counterproductive and dangerous. For example, bail reform efforts that sought to address the problem of people being unjustly kept in jail because they didn’t have enough money have resulted in too many dangerous criminal suspects being released on the streets to commit more crimes. Bail reform is in need of...