Hoofin' It

How one West Philly Police District has reduced crime significantly.


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Published: Sep 24, 2008

Isaiah Thompson

Walking the beat: Capt. Melvin Singleton, left, and Officer Marvin Burton of the 19th District.

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The 19th Patrol District is one of the biggest in the city. Home to some 94,000 residents, it stretches from Market Street as far north as City Avenue, and from 52nd Street on the east to the western boundary of the city. It encompasses thriving neighborhoods as well as vacant buildings, some of the safest stretches in Philadelphia and some of the most dangerous.

Captain Melvin Singleton claims he can conquer his district — some of it, anyway — by foot.

Singleton came to the 19th District a year ago this August. Born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia, he rose through the ranks over the last 15 years, five of which he spent in the 19th as a sergeant. He says he's trying to be a "crime analyst" for his district, using his forces strategically.

To that end, Singleton has deployed 12 foot patrols, most of them inside what he calls "the hot zone" where most violent crimes occur. The results, so far, are promising: Crime in his district is down, murders in particular.

Singleton points to Lansdowne Avenue as one of his successes. Landsdowne has been a hot spot for years. Most of the crime, Singleton says, is drug-related.

A year ago, Singleton created a 24-hour "park and ride" beat for the avenue, ordering officers to park their cars and walk up and down the street. The effect, he says, is undeniable. Robberies are down from 18 this time last year to eight so far this year; shootings from 16 to five, one of those self-inflicted.

Nor is the heavier police presence just pushing crime a block away. Murders have declined by fully 45 percent district-wide — more than double the average citywide decline. Shootings are down 19 percent, robberies 23 percent — both slightly higher declines than the city's.

"[Foot beats] have made a significant difference in the area," Singleton says. "And not everything is quantifiable. You see more kids playing outside on the street."

The 19th District isn't the only one using foot patrols. In July, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey instituted a summer initiative in which 85 rookie police officers — nearly the entire Police Academy graduating class of the summer of 2008 — were deployed to work new foot beats in four of the highest-crime districts in the city (including the 19th).

The initiative is part of the new crime-fighting plan Ramsey presented to Mayor Michael Nutter in January — a plan that also included the implementation of the controversial "stop and frisk" policy.

Foot beats are the softer side of Ramsey's approach. They do offer strategic advantages: In theory, the beats help officers develop stronger ties with residents, which helps them better prevent crime and track down criminals. But they also establish a "presence" in a neighborhood. And presence helps community relations.

Police say it's too early to cite statistics for the citywide foot patrol program. But, says Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel, "The response we've been getting from the community ... I can't even begin to gauge it."

In the 19th District, at least, many express satisfaction.

"They visible. All summer, they've been out here, and I ain't seen them harass people," says one man, who declined to give his name, outside a Laundromat on the 5400 block of Lansdowne. "I don't want to see them myself — but they good for the neighborhood."

Almost everyone City Paper (unaccompanied by police) spoke with agreed. Bennie Dawson, a 36-year resident and committeeperson for the 4th Ward, says corners that were full of drugs just a few months ago are empty. Eighty-three-year-old Mary Edwards says she's noticed the foot beats, too. "I have arthritis, and the officer, if he sees me, he'll get out and help me across the street. That's a new thing," she says. Now that's P.R.

The only major concern among the residents of Lansdowne seems to be whether the program will last.

"I hope they keep it up," says Radeyah Gaffney, who takes her daughter regularly to her mother's house on the 5700 block of Lansdowne. "As long as they don't do it for a period of time, then leave."

The future of the initiative, however, is uncertain. Bethel says the program is "probably going to continue for next Academy's class," but that the department has not decided whether the most recent batch of foot police will remain, be redeployed and replaced, or not replaced at all.

Why might a well-liked program be discontinued? Some rookie foot officers may prefer traditional beats. And there are always more hot spots than there are officers to walk them: "We have other districts in need of manpower," says Bethel.

For his part, Singleton says he's committed to maintaining as many as he can. But if the department scraps the initiative, he says, he will have to make cuts. Of the 12 foot beats he currently maintains, he says, he would probably lose five.

Officer Marvin Burton has been on the force for five years. He's spent the last year patrolling Lansdowne Avenue on Singleton's "park and walk" beat. (Singleton has an old-fashioned way of making sure his officers pound the pavement: "I check on them!" he says.)

Ambling up the street earlier this week, Burton shakes hands with a few parishioners outside a church, pops in to a corner store to buy a drink, and gets into a detailed discussion with a guy on the street about sheriff's auctions. When asked for his most harrowing stories from Lansdowne, he seems at a loss. "Things happen," he says vaguely. "You might walk up on someone rolling a blunt or something."

At one corner, which Burton says used to be infested with drug activity, he eyes a group of young men gathered at a nearby house. He does nothing, says nothing — just stands there. Quietly, the men move off the sidewalk and onto the porch.

"Long as it's one of those guys' house," he says. "You pick your battles."

Later, a woman who owns a nearby store calls the police after another woman, she says, banged a glass bottle on her knuckle. When Burton arrives, the woman says she doesn't require help, and no charges are pressed.

"It's a quiet night," Burton acknowledges.

Just how it's supposed to be.

(isaiah.thompson@citypaper.net)