Philadelphia police stepping up patrols in city after several violent weekends
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Police Department is stepping up patrols. It's in response to a string of violent weekends in the city.
The department has been struggling to maintain order through violent weekends all summer long. Chiefs have been telling upper leadership at the police department that this is something that they believe may work to help shifts overlap for this weekend.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Philadelphia police patrols will move to 12-hour shifts. It's an increase of four hours per officer.
The department has been challenged to manage weekend violence.
"We need them 12 hours," Dorothy Stovall said. "I wish we could have them longer than that because the gun violence is really out of hand now.
A department spokesperson said the idea is to allow for more officers to respond to incidents.
The FOP notes that officers' days off won't be affected and it's something that won't happen every weekend.
Booker's Restaurant at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue has been burglarized twice in the last several months.
Managers say they've noticed fewer police patrols and are even offering their own rewards for solving the crimes.
Meanwhile, the department has a thinning force with several hundred vacancies.
"I feel like in the last year, we've seen decreased police presence," Booker's Restaurant manager Jeremy Page said, "and that has definitely elevates in people's minds that this is the time to come out and do crime."
At 52nd and Market Streets, Jabari Jones heads up the West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative.
"People need to see a presence. Presence of police definitely helps to deter crime," Jones said.
Jones says between the dramatic increase in retail thefts, coupled with shootings, he's optimistic any increase in the available number of police units can make a dent, especially with gun violence.
"It happens on areas near schools and rec centers, on commercial corridors and residential neighborhoods," Jones said. "It's gotten to the point, literally a shooting can happen literally anywhere."
So, are we safe here?
"Honestly, the reality is there is no safety here in West Philly," Jones said.