A “mobile surge team” will help police officers crack down on large crowds and crime throughout Philadelphia, officials announced Friday.
Philadelphia Police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford announced the “surge team” will patrol throughout the city on Friday night through Saturday morning and Saturday night through Sunday morning starting this weekend.
“Over the course of the last few years we’ve seen a number of incidents occur on Friday nights and Saturday nights throughout the city,” Stanford said. “So starting tonight one of the things that we will be doing to combat some of the incidents that we’ve seen is we will be deploying essentially a mobile surge team that will be compiled of a significant contingent of officers.”
Stanford said the idea behind the team came from Mayor Cherelle Parker's 100-day plan for the city in which she tasked Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel with coming up with a strategy to deploy more officers on the street in order to reduce crime.
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"As you all know, when Mayor Parker took office, she spoke about her city plan and one element of that was making the city safer as well as our department deploying more officers on the street," Stanford said.
The "surge team" will be composed of officers from non patrol units such as administrative units and tactical support units so that there isn’t any impact on the staffing of current patrol units, according to Stanford. Stanford said the team will be available for “planned or unplanned events,” such as large gatherings or car meetups. They will also be used to enhance and help current police units rather than replacing them.
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Stanford did not reveal the number of officers involved but said it was a “significant contingent of officers.”
Stanford also said they already have a plan for specific locations the unit will patrol throughout the year though officials are open to adjusting their strategy as time goes on. The “surge team” will also be uniformed and in marked police vehicles. Supervisors will also work with the team.
While Stanford mentioned cracking down on large crowds and major gatherings, he also said the surge team will focus on all crime from gun violence to retail theft.
"When I say crime fighting, that encompasses all crime," Stanford said. "If they are patrolling and there are quality of life issues that they can address, they will address those issues. Obviously, violent crime is a priority within the city of making the city safe but crime is crime. It's not like we're just picking and choosing. If they see crime that's being committed, they're going to respond. They're going to act."
Stanford didn’t reveal the specific locations they would focus on every weekend but said their strategy will be driven by data. He also said the areas would change throughout the year depending on where the data leads them.
"So the data drives us as to where we go," Stanford said. "It has been that way in terms of looking at our deployment. The strategy of where we need to have officers essentially patrol -- a higher deployment basis if you will -- in some of the areas that we know we've seen a higher number of gun violence. A higher number of robberies. A higher number of shootings. All those different things."
The announcement was made nearly two weeks after shots were fired while police dispersed a large crowd of teens near Temple University.
"Every day I walk past a group of teens and you never know what could happen," Temple junior Reilly Widmayer told NBC10. "I’ve seen BB guns shot at my fellow students, I’ve seen people get jumped, I’ve seen people have their sneakers stolen, so honestly that would make me feel so much more secure here.”
Meanwhile, some anti-violence non-profit groups think the idea could be tweaked.
Steven Pickens is the president of the Philly Truce Organization and says that his team is more interested in community policing and having marked volunteers de-escalate issues on the streets.
"No matter how many police they put on the street, it won't be enough," Pickens said. "It's not like they can protect the neighborhood alone, you still need a sustained presence, visible presence in the community."
Pickens told NBC10 that he thinks nonprofits like his could work with police to create better citizen relationships to tackle crime.
