In the United States, there has been a general climate of instability and uncertainty within the nation since President Joe Biden entered the oval office in 2021. Since being sworn in as the 46th president, American working class citizens have struggled under the effects of inflation which reached levels not seen in decades. Over 5 million illegal migrants have crossed the southern border with Mexico in just two and a half years, and the overall quality of life in cities and suburbs across the union has declined as crime levels soar. In one city in the mid-Atlantic region, the police commissioner has resigned in the face of an untenable situation.
Danielle Outlaw, the commissioner of Philadelphia, announced her resignation on September 5th. In an official statement by city mayor Jim Kenney, Outlaw was offered praise for her three and a half years of service. Kenney claimed Outlaw brought about change within the city’s police department and removed “racism and gender discrimination” from the stigma of the force. Outlaw was the first black female police commissioner in Philadelphia. She will leave her post on September 22nd and become the Deputy Chief Security Officer of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Kenney blamed the recent crime surges in the city on “legal and illegal guns”. In a popular Democrat narrative, the 2nd amendment right of law-abiding citizens to carry and own firearms is assaulted, while criminal reform policies enacted in recent years that have resulted in the rise of violence and emboldened criminals are ignored. Homicides in Philadelphia rose dramatically in recent years. From 2007 to 2019, annual homicides ranged from a low of 246 to a high of 391 yearly. Since taking over in 2020, homicides reported during Outlaws term ranged from 499, 562, and 516 respectively, a sharp increase. Philadelphia is not the only city facing a crime wave; New York and San Francisco are among others.
