State House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) says “crime—and even violent crime—in our communities is out of control.” On Monday he joined with his fellow House Republicans to announce a package of bills to fight crime and improve public safety.
“From rural to urban Pennsylvania, no community has been spared from this crisis. It has exhausted police and prosecutors. It has exhausted local and state resources. And it has exhausted our patience,” Cutler said.
Their bills, sponsored by Rep. Craig Williams (R-Delaware/Chester) and Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny), focus on prevention, policing, prosecution, and punishment.
“Public safety is a human right,” said Cutler. “And one of the main of government is to keep people safe.” He noted there is an economic impact with “looting and retail theft” as companies increase prices to cover the cost.
Over the summer, Philadelphia police arrested suspects who stole more than $75,000 in merchandise from Luluemon and Givenchy stores, mostly in the King of Prussia Mall. Other thefts were reported in Philadelphia, Ardmore, and Upper Merion dating back to last November. Organized retail crime “has become far too a common occurrence the last few years for retailers in the commonwealth,” Pennsylvania Retailers Association Executive Director John Holub told DVJournal at the time.
In some communities, Butler said Monday, it’s even worse as stores simply pack up and move out.
Williams, a former federal and military prosecutor, is sponsoring a bill to support crime-stopper programs to allow people to report crimes anonymously.
“One of the great fallacies repeated is that crime rates are down. That is absolutely false. What is down is the reporting of crime. The reason for that is people are very afraid of retaliation to have their names associated with the reporting of crime. We all know in our experience that crime is out of control.”
Another issue is retail crime.
“We consumers in Pennsylvania are subsidizing crime,” he said. “You think inflation is out of control. There’s a portion of that that is related to retail theft, to online scamming”
Rising prices are not just from inflation but to help pay for retail theft and fraud. Companies make up those lost revenues “by passing those costs on to us,” said Williams.
The bill would provide a committee to help areas set up crime reporting programs. Some counties already have programs, and the bill would extend them to all 67 counties.
The crime package will also have an illegal immigration component, Williams said. It will encourage cities, towns and counties to honor federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers and enforcement.
“Our commonwealth will not be a safe harbor to illegal immigration,” said Williams.
Gaydos’ bill will help communities organize neighborhood watch programs with the support of law enforcement.
While some crimes are down, “what has increased is violent offenses. And that makes up the larger proportion of all offenses,” said Gaydos. She introduced two bills, one for neighborhood watch programs, and one increasing bail rules for violent offenders.
“We all know that people who know their communities the best are the residents who actually live there,” she said. “Vigilant neighbors can serve as the eyes and ears of our neighborhoods, helping to deter and prevent crime before it happens.”
Recently, in her area in the Pittsburgh suburbs, there was an incident involving torture over drugs and a wristwatch.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” she said. “But it’s reaching our suburbs. We must not let that happen.
“Our courts have a constitutional obligation to consider public safety when determining bail for these violent criminals…This is addressing the most dangerous individuals and releasing them on bail has shown that it leads to tragic consequences. Violent offenders should not be permitted to commit further acts of violence.”
Her bill would require courts to consider public safety when setting bail.
“No more revolving doors for violent criminals,” said Gaydos. “Our law enforcement deserves us to have their back so they can protect everybody.”
Cutler said, “The House Democrats have taken a position that is easy on crime, and that is unacceptable.” They introduced a constitutional amendment that they knew would not pass, Cutler said.
It now requires a unanimous decision from the state Parole Board for a convicted murderer to be released on parole. The amendment, introduced by Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia), would reduce that to a majority.
The Republicans have held hearings on crime throughout the commonwealth to listen to people’s concerns, he said. And the proposed laws, and others in their crime package, stem from those hearings.
Please follow DVJournal on social media: X@DVJournal or Facebook.com/DelawareValleyJournal
