Memphis Aims to Replicate Philadelphia Gun Program

Dec. 12, 2012
Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton said that law-enforcement officials there are trying to reduce youth gun violence and that his team heard of GunStat and wanted to learn more.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- An initiative that the city started this year aimed at curbing gun crime will likely be replicated more than 1,000 miles away.

Officials from Memphis, Tenn., visited Philadelphia early this week to meet with Mayor Nutter, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, First Assistant District Attorney Ed McCann and others to learn about GunStat, launched in February by the Police Department, the District Attorney's Office and other partners.

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton said that law-enforcement officials there are trying to reduce youth gun violence and that his team heard of GunStat and wanted to learn more.

"We have a similar challenge here," Wharton said. "We thought [Philadelphia] is a good place to go up and take a look at it and we exceeded our expectation as to what we wanted to learn."

Wharton said he plans to implement an initiative similar to GunStat, which Philadelphia officials say has reduced gun crime in target areas by more than 20 percent.

"While they're a smaller city, they're facing some of the more serious crimes we are seeing here," said Assistant District Attorney Angel Flores, who also met with the Memphis officials. "They really got to see up front everything we have in our arsenal to deal with these violent offenders."

Copyright 2012 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Sponsored Recommendations

Build Your Real-Time Crime Center

March 19, 2024
A checklist for success

Whitepaper: A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

July 28, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge

A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

June 6, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge.

Listen to Real-Time Emergency 911 Calls in the Field

Feb. 8, 2023
Discover advanced technology that allows officers in the field to listen to emergency calls from their vehicles in real time and immediately identify the precise location of the...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Officer, create an account today!