In the city, any day can be a killing day
When it comes to homicide in Philadelphia this year, one day of the week is pretty much like any other.
There's no weekend blip.
That is, perhaps, the most remarkable fact to be gleaned from a review of the city's 185 slayings in the first half of 2006. That review shows that, as was the case last year, the typical victim of homicide in Philadelphia is a young black male. And he has been typically killed by a handgun.
What is a little different is the day-of-the-week pattern.
According to data provided by the Philadelphia Police Department, the largest number of homicides, 32, occurred on Friday. The second-highest number of killings, 31, took place on Tuesday.
And the five other days of the week, including Saturday and Sunday, were essentially indistinguishable, all with totals ranging from 22 to 26.
In one sense, this is a statistical anomaly; through the first six months of last year, Saturday and Sunday were the most common days for killing in Philadelphia.
But professor Roger Lane of Haverford College, an expert on murder in America, says the current pattern, or lack thereof, has some significance from a historical perspective.
Decades ago, killings tended to happen on the weekend, after paydays, when people had the time and money to get drunk and/or focus on personal or domestic disputes. No more.
"To people who aren't legitimately employed, one night of the week isn't much different from another," Lane said. "I think what we're seeing in Philadelphia reflects the high level of poverty and unemployment among younger, black males who, in large part, are both the perpetrators and the victims of these crimes."
The idea that urban homicide is largely a weekend phenomenon has lived on - with a cheap handgun still known as a Saturday Night Special - even though the reality on the ground has long since changed.
Regardless of which day of the week a killing is committed, the police data paint this picture of homicide in Philadelphia:
Handguns were used in 82 percent of the city's killings in the first half of 2006; shotguns and rifles accounted for 4 percent more. Last year, the local percentages were slightly lower, about 77 percent for handguns, 80 percent for all manner of guns.
Nationally, handguns are used in about 51 percent of homicides, with other firearms accounting for nearly 15 percent.
"What we worry about is the ease with which people can get weapons in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Mayor Street said in a recent interview, "and the fact that they're virtually all over the place."
The legislature has shown little interest in revising the state's gun laws. Earlier this month, Attorney General Thomas Corbett and State Sen. Vincent Fumo (D., Phila.) announced the formation of a task force to curb the sale and possession of illegal firearms in the city.
About 80 percent of all victims this year in Philadelphia have been African American, which is about the norm here. Roughly 89 percent of the victims have been male, also about the same as in 2005.
Nationally, about 78 percent of homicide victims are male; slightly less than half are black.
The cities with the highest homicide rates in America, studies show, have large, poor black populations with high unemployment. Cities with homicide rates higher than Philadelphia's in 2005 included Baltimore, Birmingham, Detroit, Kansas City, Richmond, St. Louis and Washington.
Nearly half of the homicides in Philadelphia this year have occurred between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Last month, Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson announced the formation of the Strategic Intervention Tactical Enforcement Mobile Unit, an elite 46-officer anticrime team to patrol the city's most dangerous areas during those hours.
The youngest adults, age 18 to 24, make up the largest group of victims, accounting for 38 percent of the total.
Locally, the percentage of victims represented by this age group has risen over the years. As recently as 1994, 18- to 24-year-olds accounted for 24 percent of the victims. Last year, the figure was 32 percent.
Nationally, there were slightly more victims in the 25-to-39 age group than in the 18-to-24 group in 2004, the last year for which breakdowns are available.
Philadelphia's 380 homicides in 2005 were its most since 1997. The homicide rate per capita was the highest of the nation's 10 largest cities.
By Larry Eichel
Inquirer Staff Writer
There's no weekend blip.
That is, perhaps, the most remarkable fact to be gleaned from a review of the city's 185 slayings in the first half of 2006. That review shows that, as was the case last year, the typical victim of homicide in Philadelphia is a young black male. And he has been typically killed by a handgun.
What is a little different is the day-of-the-week pattern.
According to data provided by the Philadelphia Police Department, the largest number of homicides, 32, occurred on Friday. The second-highest number of killings, 31, took place on Tuesday.
And the five other days of the week, including Saturday and Sunday, were essentially indistinguishable, all with totals ranging from 22 to 26.
In one sense, this is a statistical anomaly; through the first six months of last year, Saturday and Sunday were the most common days for killing in Philadelphia.
But professor Roger Lane of Haverford College, an expert on murder in America, says the current pattern, or lack thereof, has some significance from a historical perspective.
Decades ago, killings tended to happen on the weekend, after paydays, when people had the time and money to get drunk and/or focus on personal or domestic disputes. No more.
"To people who aren't legitimately employed, one night of the week isn't much different from another," Lane said. "I think what we're seeing in Philadelphia reflects the high level of poverty and unemployment among younger, black males who, in large part, are both the perpetrators and the victims of these crimes."
The idea that urban homicide is largely a weekend phenomenon has lived on - with a cheap handgun still known as a Saturday Night Special - even though the reality on the ground has long since changed.
Regardless of which day of the week a killing is committed, the police data paint this picture of homicide in Philadelphia:
Handguns were used in 82 percent of the city's killings in the first half of 2006; shotguns and rifles accounted for 4 percent more. Last year, the local percentages were slightly lower, about 77 percent for handguns, 80 percent for all manner of guns.
Nationally, handguns are used in about 51 percent of homicides, with other firearms accounting for nearly 15 percent.
"What we worry about is the ease with which people can get weapons in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Mayor Street said in a recent interview, "and the fact that they're virtually all over the place."
The legislature has shown little interest in revising the state's gun laws. Earlier this month, Attorney General Thomas Corbett and State Sen. Vincent Fumo (D., Phila.) announced the formation of a task force to curb the sale and possession of illegal firearms in the city.
About 80 percent of all victims this year in Philadelphia have been African American, which is about the norm here. Roughly 89 percent of the victims have been male, also about the same as in 2005.
Nationally, about 78 percent of homicide victims are male; slightly less than half are black.
The cities with the highest homicide rates in America, studies show, have large, poor black populations with high unemployment. Cities with homicide rates higher than Philadelphia's in 2005 included Baltimore, Birmingham, Detroit, Kansas City, Richmond, St. Louis and Washington.
Nearly half of the homicides in Philadelphia this year have occurred between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Last month, Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson announced the formation of the Strategic Intervention Tactical Enforcement Mobile Unit, an elite 46-officer anticrime team to patrol the city's most dangerous areas during those hours.
The youngest adults, age 18 to 24, make up the largest group of victims, accounting for 38 percent of the total.
Locally, the percentage of victims represented by this age group has risen over the years. As recently as 1994, 18- to 24-year-olds accounted for 24 percent of the victims. Last year, the figure was 32 percent.
Nationally, there were slightly more victims in the 25-to-39 age group than in the 18-to-24 group in 2004, the last year for which breakdowns are available.
Philadelphia's 380 homicides in 2005 were its most since 1997. The homicide rate per capita was the highest of the nation's 10 largest cities.
By Larry Eichel
Inquirer Staff Writer
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