"Anything Goes" On Philly Streets

This is for all of you who ever wanted a glimpse into what myself and other members of the Philadelphia Police Department have to deal with on a daily basis. Read on . . .


PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- On the streets of Philadelphia's toughest neighborhoods, just trying to get ahead can get you killed.

"You got a good-looking girlfriend, you're going to get shot; someone wants her," said 17-year-old Andre, who asked his last name not be used for this article.

He and others like him are the new face of violence in Philadelphia -- a younger, harder generation that lives and dies by the gun. Though it's spread throughout the city, the problem of youth violence is most acute in the southern, southwestern and northern parts.

Over the past couple of years, Philadelphia's murder rate reached highs not seen since the 1980s, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. So far this year, more than 315 people have been killed, a pace of well over a murder a day, police said. That's a higher rate, according to FBI statistics, than much larger cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

The most telling quote from this story? Brace yourselves:

"It makes you feel stronger, powerful, a bigger man," he said of having a gun. "You even walk differently when you have a gun on you." (H/T - CNN.com)

And therein, dear readers, lies the problem. It's difficult to combat the skyrocketing murder rate when the thugs don't give a rat's ass about themselves or anybody else. And when you are fighting a subculture of violence that celebrates gun-toting, what chance do you have?

Oh, and for the record, the city's homicide count now stands at 316.

(Linked at OTB's Beltway Traffic Jam.)