Former Municipal Court Judge Jimmie Moore wants to call in the National Guard to support Philadelphia’s crime fighting efforts.
Moore announced last year that he is a candidate for the First Congressional District seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D).
In a campaign press release on Tuesday, Moore said the murder rate in Philadelphia has reached epidemic proportions.
“We are only one month into 2012 and there are already 32 murders on the books, that’s more than a murder a day,” said Moore.
Before being elected to Municipal Court where he focused on homicide cases, Moore had his own law firm and served briefly as an Assistant Attorney General in Delaware. He founded a community-based program helping ex-offenders become legal secretaries and paralegals.
He cites such local emergencies as post-Katrina in New Orleans and the struggle to maintain an adequate police presence in Camden, NJ, as examples of why and how the National Guard should report for duty.
“Our residents are gripped with fear; this is not a time to put sunglasses over the black eye that is this,” said Moore
Moore offered praise for the city’s law enforcement community for their work. But he called on the federal government to offer additional resources “to patrol and provide surveillance in our most at-risk neighborhoods and populations.”
The suggestion comes less than a week after Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter outlined new crime fighting measures. The announcement at Strawberry Mansion High School on Jan. 26 laid out plans focusing on “prevention, intervention and collaboration.”
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Included in the plans are additional efforts to get illegal weapons off city streets, offer cash incentives, up to $20,000, to anyone who helps identify violent criminals, along with enhancing ways citizens can communicate with police about crimes they may witness and expanding the use of video surveillance equipment.
“This is about bad behavior,” said Nutter on NBC10 @ Issue with Steve Highsmith on Jan. 29.
Anyone witnessing a crime can submit e-mail, photos and videos directly to the Philadelphia Police Department at tips@phillypolice.com.
