Philadelphia: DA Asks Police to Limit Low-Level Arrests During Coronavirus Threat

A Philadelphia Police officer patrols under a bridge near a heroin encampment in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 14, 2017. In North Philadelphia, railroad gulch as it is known, is ground zero in PhiladelphiaÃÂ¼s opioid epidemic. The tracks and the surrounding property are owned and operated by …

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner asked the city’s police department to cut back on arrests for low-level and non-violent crime.

WHYY reported that Krasner said each arrest causes greater risk of the spread of coronavirus at police substations, in court rooms, and in detention facilities.

Krasner said, “We want to make sure the police are safe and don’t have prolonged contact with people that have the virus. Taking one person back to the police station risks everyone at the station. They go into custody, they endanger other inmates in that great cruise ship that is a jail. And then they go to court.”

He has asked Philadelphia police commissioner Danielle Outlaw to focus police officers on “serious offenses” only, for a time.

NBC Philadelphia reported that Outlaw is willing to delay arrests for certain low-level crimes, but makes clear she is “not turning a blind eye to crime.”

This means the arrest for nonviolent offenses will still be made, but at a later date.

Outlaw stressed that officers still have the discretion to make an immediate arrest, if so needed. She said, “An officer still has the authority to utilize discretion, and take an offender into physical custody for immediate processing, if the officer and supervisor believe the individual poses a threat to public safety.”



Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.