Inquirer Editorial: Put police where they are most needed

Mayor Nutter and police Commissioner Charles Ramsey deserve some applause for effectively implementing a stricter curfew that seems to have helped keep marauding youths from causing trouble.

There were no "flash mobs" reported this past weekend. The random attacks by roving youths prompted Nutter two weeks ago to order a crackdown to calm nervous tourists and residents.

Police on Friday and Saturday cited 70 minors under age 18 for violating the 9 p.m. curfew. The number of youths detained dwindled as the message apparently got out that police were serious about keeping those under age off the streets.

The show of force and positive outcome were good news for the targeted areas - Center City, the South Street area, and University City.

But the attention afforded those neighborhoods also raised questions about the police protection provided to less trendy and affluent neighborhoods, where street violence is almost a daily occurrence and residents live in fear.

Such questions are fair. It doesn't discount the need to put more officers where mobs randomly attacked and robbed people to also stress that city officials can't do that at the expense of other neighborhoods that also need a strong police presence.

Demonstrating that point was what happened after Nutter attended a bowling party for teenagers Saturday night in Kensington. A 16-year-old girl was stabbed in the arm on her way home from the event. Fortunately, the wound was minor and an arrest was made quickly. The stabbing occurred in a section of the city not covered by the special curfew.

Nor was there a curfew or greater police presence when an elderly man who was robbed and beaten up Saturday by young thugs in his South Philadelphia neighborhood. He suffered a head injury, a cut on his chin, and a swollen jaw.

Across the city, you can find neighborhoods with residents who know that just a few more cops patrolling the area would make it safer for them to sit outside for a few hours to enjoy the cooler air after the sun goes down.

That doesn't necessarily mean a larger police force is needed, although it might. But it does mean Nutter and Ramsey must make the best use possible of the statistics that pinpoint high-crime areas. Use that data not only to deploy officers, but to select neighborhoods for programs for youths and others that can help reduce crime.