Opinion Board | A necessary measure

Philadelphia's dying for an aggressive crime-fighting strategy.

Monday's shootings at a strip club on Chestnut Street, along with recent gun-related incidents and a sexual assault near campus, have brought Philadelphia's growing crime problem to Penn's doorstep. Luckily, no Penn students have died as a result of the incidents. But 365 city residents, including the late police officer Chuck Cassidy, weren't so fortunate.

Penn has responded with its own measures, but there's only so much that the University can do. Mayor-elect Michael Nutter's stop-and-frisk policy, which encourages officers to stop and frisk anyone who looks suspicious, is one key effort that helps police officers get illegal guns off the street and reduce homicide rates.

True, the policy isn't ideal and may even strike some as Orwellian. But Philadelphia is no utopia, and with violent crime at epidemic levels, the city needs to take every reasonable step it can to keep its residents safe.

Consider our neighbor to the north. In 1990, New York City had a whopping 2,262 murders. The city responded by using aggressive strategies like stop-and-frisk as part of a broader effort to crack down on illegal weapons and smaller offenses.

It worked. New York's murder rate is now at an all time low, nearly one-sixth that of Philadelphia's.

Understandably, there are concerns about the possibility of racial profiling and infringement on civil liberties. But there's no reason that Philadelphia's police officers, with the proper training and instruction, can't use the method in a professional manner.

In fact, police officers have already used stop-and-frisk methods in certain areas. And as Nutter likes to put it, people also have a right not to be shot.

In short, it's time for City Hall to step up. Otherwise, Penn's efforts to keep its students safe will simply be just another shot in the dark.

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