City Fed Up With High Crime Rate, Mayor Offers Up To $20 Thousand In Reward Money
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The city of Philadelphia is reeling from a more than one-a-day murder rate so far in 2012. In an effort to stop the violence, Mayor Michael Nutter says the city is offering up to $20,000 in reward money in homicide cases.
Mayor Nutter held a public safety briefing at Strawberry Mansion High School. One component is a push to get judges to follow the Pennsylvania crime code and hand out five to seven-year prison terms, rather than probation, when someone is caught with an illegal weapon.
"Got a gun, go to jail."
Mayor Nutter is putting a bounty on the head of every murderer in Philadelphia, offering serious reward money, with no exceptions.
"Every life is precious in this city and so now, we don't have to wonder or wait to see whether or not there will be a reward offered. In every homicide in this city, we will offer up to $20,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a person involved in a homicide."
The city has set aside $500,000 from the general fund.
Police Commissioner Ramsey says the protocol will have investigating detectives making recommendations on how critical the information is to crack a case, and then decisions will be made on the amount.
