Broken Windows

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on the recent series of car break-ins in Philadelphia. 

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:

Paul Davis: Broken windows (broadandliberty.com)

What a way to start your day. 

Center City residents awoke to discover that twelve parked cars were vandalized on 22nd Street from Arch Street to Chestnut Street.

The Center City residents walked to their parked cars and discovered that their cars had broken windows and small items in the cars had been stolen. The vandalism and thefts are like the other recent cases of vandalism and thefts in other neighborhoods.

Earlier, South Philadelphia residents awoke to discover that nineteen parked cars were vandalized on Washington Avenue. 

The cars were found with smashed windows, torn apart interiors, and small items stolen. The residents were shocked and outraged, as well as frustrated by the lack of security and safety in their neighborhood. 

Camera footage from a nearby business recorded a person walking through the parking lot late in the evening while peering into cars with a flashlight.   

Vandalism and theft from auto are minor crimes, but they are quality-of-life crimes that significantly affect people and can lead to more dangerous and more substantial crimes. 

These quality-of-life crimes are preventable. The police, who are still searching for the vandal and thief, can install city cameras where the vandalism and petty thefts are occurring. After all, the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, where city cameras across the city are monitored by the police, is located in South Philadelphia at the old Defense Department depot, known locally as the “Quartermaster.” 

Increased police patrols can also discourage vandalism and theft from autos.    

I reached out to retired Philadelphia Police Sergeant Gary Capuano, a South Philadelphia resident, and asked him for his take on the crimes.

“First off, I want to let everyone know that if they are a victim of a crime, no matter how trivial it may seem, report it. Police need to know where crimes are happening in order to devote manpower to that particular area,” Capuano said. “If only two out of twenty victims file a report, your area may not get the proper attention that is needed.

“It’s bad enough that thefts from autos can be combined and one set of district control numbers (report number) can be used for multiple victims as long as the time and proximity to each other is ‘close.’  It’s considered a ‘continuous act.’” 

Capuano said that is how Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) used to work. Local police department statistics were turned over to the FBI through this system. 

“I believe the system now used is called NIBRIS and it works the same way. So, the recent nineteen cars that were broken into in South Philadelphia more than likely all have the same report number (DC#) as do the 27 or so cars that were broken into this past May in Fairmount. 

Capuano suggests that to prevent theft from one’s vehicle, one should ensure that one locks their car doors upon exiting. Remove any valuables and don’t leave anything in plain view. Even loose change that may be of little value to the car owner is a score for someone with a drug addiction. 

“That dollar or two in change in your cup holder is going to cost you a few hundred dollars to get your window fixed. All too often I have seen videos posted from victims on social media where a suspect just walks down the block in the late night/early morning hours trying car door handles, hoping to find one that was left unlocked. Call 911 and provide the officer with the video so they know who they should be looking for,” Capuano advised. “The responding officer can go back to their district and provide this video to the district’s crime prevention officer, who can then upload it to the roll call room television so officers can view the video for themselves and focus their attention on the right people.”

Capuano also suggests that to ensure that the officer does his/her job, one can send an e-mail to the district lieutenant and/or captain and attach the video. He said that all city employees’ e-mails are their first name.last name @phila.gov. 

“I’ve heard too many stories where an officer tells a complainant that someone will be out to retrieve said video only for that to never happen. You can also submit a roll call complaint through the phillypolice.com website. Click on the three bars on the upper right-hand side of the screen, click on forms and reports, scroll down to “submit a roll call complaint” and fill the form out. This form can be used for disorderly crowds, nuisance properties, abandoned autos, graffiti, vandalism, security checks and anything else that you may need.” 

Capuno said the officer who responds to your theft from auto should make an attempt to lift fingerprints. Don’t begin cleaning your vehicle prior to the officer’s arrival. 

“I have seen too many times that an officer will write on the report ‘scene contaminated.’ That’s a crock. Who contaminated it? You with your prints, the owner of the vehicle? Obviously, your prints belong in the car. What they can do at that point is still lift the print(s) and submit them for analysis. “They can go a step further and take your prints and submit them with the lifted print(s) — your prints are called elimination prints. 

“I know that you probably don’t feel like going to a meeting after a long day at work, but you should let your voice be heard. Find out when your respective district is having their monthly PSA meeting and go. Challenge the lieutenant/captain on what he/she is doing to ensure that your family and property is being protected. Strength is in numbers. Also, making a phone call to a councilperson can’t hurt either. Policing and politics, in my opinion, often go hand-in-hand.”

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.