City Murder Rates

[Daario]

I'm a lifelong Philly resident and have lived in Germantown, West Philly and North Philly all my life (aside from a few summers in Istanbul and North Alabama to see family.) The dramatic rise in homicides is very concerning, but it is still largely concentrated in poorer and majority black neighborhoods. Lately however, it doesn't seem to be due to drug disputes or reasons we are used to. It's largely been petty beefs between teenagers through social media platforms like Instagram. And I don't want to sound like an old boomer, but the local underground rap scene here is definitely tied into it. Drugs and turf still play a part, but the shooters are dying younger and a lot is about Instagram clout these days. PhilaPD's homicide clearance rate is abysmal, something like 50%, and a lot of people get the feeling that they only really care when a shooting happens in a white/gentrifying neighborhood. The lack of trust been the hood and the cops runs deep though, and it will take a lot to build it up.

With that being said, Philly's real estate market is still booming, the arts scene is thriving, lots people are still moving into Center City, W Philly, NW Philly, S Philly and parts of N Philly. It's depressing to say, but generally speaking if you're not a young black man living in the hood, you shouldn't have to worry about being murdered. It's just such a shame that such a beautiful city has been experiencing such bloodshed.