New Philly law takes weapons off the streets, data shows
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – New data shows Philadelphia's Driving Equality Law is helping to take more weapons off the streets. The law bans specific traffic stops for minor violations like having a tail light out.
Advocates say it helps police fight real crime.
Friday marks one year since Philadelphia enacted its Driving Equality Law. The law bans officers from pulling people over for minor traffic violations like a missing inspection sticker, broken lights or something hanging from the rear-view mirror.
"If pulling people over made this city safer, I would be the first to volunteer for my rights to be violated. But it doesn't work," Isaiah Thomas, Democratic Philadelphia Councilman, said.
Thomas wrote the law and says officers are now able to tackle real crime.
"If a taillight is missing and that's the only thing wrong with the car, we feel like you should focus on the car that ran the red light, focus on the car that ran the stop sign, focus on the car that turned left when they weren't supposed to turn left," the councilman said.
Thomas says refocusing officers' attention helps police take more guns off the streets with fewer stops.
According to the councilman's data, in 2019, officers recovered 318 guns from 215,00 traffic stops.
But after the Driving Equality Law was implemented, police recovered 346 guns from 64,000 traffic stops.
While some, including the Philadelphia Police Union, have argued the law makes Philadelphia less safe, Pastor Carl Day who advocated for the law, says traffic stops for minor violations disproportionately affect people of color.
"The average non-Black citizen don't have to drive with the same inherited fears when they see officers," Pastor Day said.
He advocates "it's almost like you're cowering out and you're just trying to do all you can to just be respectful and hope it doesn't go wrong when you know you were targeted for no reason."
And councilman Thomas says that he's spoken to lawmakers in about a dozen towns and counties around the country about replicating this law. He says the goal is simple: to save lives and improve police-community relations.
"First and foremost, it acknowledges there's a problem between communities of color and law enforcement, and it communicates that we want to try to address the issues," Thomas said.
The police union declined to comment on the new data but they've filed a lawsuit claiming the local law violates state law. But Pastor Day says it's about improving lives.
"It's all about uplifting people's humanity, respecting their integrity," he said.