OAG and PPD have seized 63 guns since Strategic Response Team launch
PHILADELPHIA – Today in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, and 18th District Captain Matthew Gillespie announced the impact from the ongoing partnership of the Office of Attorney General’s Strategic Response Team working with West Philadelphia police districts. Since July, this effort led to a 46% decrease in shootings in the 18th district and a 18% decrease in the 19th district, and agents and officers seized 63 guns and made 178 arrests since the program launched earlier this year.
“Working together across law enforcement and directly with the community, we can work to dismantle the gun and drug trafficking organizations that threaten public safety,” said AG Shapiro “Getting these guns off the streets is only one step in tackling the violence, it is a start and we are seeing an impact.”
The Office of Attorney General Strategic Response Teams are mobile units sent to assist local law enforcement in reducing violence by taking down drug trafficking operations that use firearms in communities across Pennsylvania. These teams operate in areas confronting gun violence related to drug trafficking organizations, and have recently operated in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia and the city of McKeesport in Western Pennsylvania.
“The Attorney General’s Office, along with many of our other law enforcement partners, are committed to working with the PPD to fight the scourge of violence and drug trafficking that has plagued our communities for far too long,” said Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw. “While the latest data is extremely promising, we recognize that it is going to take a continued and sustained collaborative effort in order to combat the ongoing crisis of violence in our neighborhoods.”
In Kensington, the Strategic Response Team focuses on dismantling corrupt organizations through projects like the Kensington Initiative. This year alone, they have secured 50 firearms and made 213 arrests.
The Strategic Response Team in West Philadelphia partners with the Philadelphia Police Department to provide more law enforcement support to community leaders in neighborhoods with high rates of gun violence related to drug trafficking.
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