This burns me to no end.

The graphic on the left was taken from the Philadelphia Police Department’s official website. It boasts 2012′s “Year-End Totals.”

They’re wrong. They’re off by a half-dozen.

The 331st homicide occurred on Christmas Eve on Whitaker Avenue in the 2nd District. The 337th – and presumably, final homicide – occurred on December 29th on Akron Street in the 15th District.

The worst part of this is that, six years on, they are still comparing numbers to the uber-violent 2007. (That was probably the last truly accurate number posted.) Hell, there is barely enough room on the page to fit that year in the graphic!

So, who are they trying to snow here? The mayor knows the real numbers, as does city council, and the upper echelon of the department. They’re obviously okay with Commissioner Ramsey’s handling of the violence here, so why the shenanigans? Is it for the benefit of the media? They know the real numbers, and are covering for the administration, anyway.

The rubes citizens probably don’t know the actual numbers, but they don’t care, so why should the department? If nothing else, fudging the numbers is an insult to those victims. Apparently they’re brutal deaths don’t count.

This is what this country has come to. No one takes responsibility anymore, no one gives a frak, and no one strives toward a decent work ethic.

/Soapbox.

The 2012 homicide count in Philly is now at 12. Today is January 11th.

Three people were killed, three others were wounded in multiple shootings yesterday, and two slashed bodies were discovered in what marked a grisly day in Philadelphia. Capping the day was the late-night shooting of four teens sitting in a car. In that incident, two 14-year-old boys were killed and two other teens were injured in what police believe was an ambush shooting Tuesday night in the city’s Juniata section.

Now why, exactly, would you venture into this burg unarmed?

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Like most of America’s big cities, Philadelphia has a murder problem. Sadly, it’s the only category in which we can say “We’re #1.”

If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you know that I have been posting the accurate, updated homicide numbers for months now. And as this article confirms, they’re not good.

This year Philadelphia has the highest homicide rate of the nation’s 10 most populous cities, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

A total of 324 homicides occurred in Philadelphia in 2011 as of Wednesday, compared to 305 last year. The city also has a murder rate per 100,000 population of 20.7, the highest of America’s 10 largest cities.

As of Thursday, the count was 325, and there’s a good chance we’ll have some before midnight. The stats on the department’s web page look like this:

Notice the graphic next to the 325. It shows that homicides are down 17%. “Wyatt, how can this be?” Well, in a masterstroke of fuzzy math, Commissioner Ramsey is taking the aggregate numbers from as far back as 2007, when we almost hit 400!

Homicides are not down, folks. They’ve gone up every year since 2009 (Ramsey’s second year). I guarantee you the 2007 numbers will stay on that list for years, just so it looks like the numbers are declining. It has to look that way, so the mayor and police commissioner can tell the public that they’re making a difference.

UPDATE: The final tally for 2011 was 327. So far today, we’ve had four homicides.

Five homicides in twenty hours. God, I love this town!

Five Philadelphia men were fatally shot in separate cases in the city on Sunday, according to police. The violence began shortly after midnight, when four men were struck by gunfire at 12:28 a.m., on the 1800 block of North Newkirk Street in the city’s Brewerytown section, police said. One man, 20, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

In a completely unrelated note, the mayor canceled the last two police academy classes. But wait, there’s more!

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Apparently, Labor Day Weekend only marks the end of the Summer; not the end of the homicides:

On a day devoted to neighborhood festivals promoting peace and harmony, Philadelphia police reported four more homicides yesterday, bringing the year’s total to 285. Local civic leaders and anti-violence groups ended the summer with block parties and street fairs against the backdrop of a murderous season: Since the first of June, 117 people have been killed in the city.

The latest victims, police said, were men slain in separate shootings within two hours early yesterday:

* Jermaine Jackson, 26, of West Philadelphia, was found in the 3800 block of Haverford Avenue in the Mantua section shortly after 2:20 a.m., and was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds at Hahnemann University Hospital.

* Terrel Davis, 24, of Frankford, was shot in the head in an alley in the 3100 block of E Street in Kensington about 3 a.m.

* Julious Pickett, 24, of Brewerytown, was shot in the face in the 2000 block of North 31st Street in Strawberry Mansion shortly before 3:10 a.m.

* And shortly after 4:01 a.m., police found Walter Drivers, 27, of no known address, shot once in the head in the 6100 block of Callowhill Street in West Philadelphia. (H/T – The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Unfortunately, this count is now inaccurate. On Saturday, September 1, Philadelphia saw 6 homicides in 24 hours. Another homicide was reported Sunday afternoon, for a grand total of 7 bodies in a day and a half. (The 2007 total stands at 288.) And the holiday weekend is not even over yet.

Obviously, something is seriously wrong in this town. The murder rate is skyrocketing, and the politicians (both at the local and state level) are trying to clamp down on legal gun owners. Now, my regular readers have heard me shout this from the top of One Liberty Place, but it bears repeating (and re-repeating): the law-abiding gun owners are not the ones murdering people like it’s going out of style! It’s the thugs that buy the illegal guns on street corners and back alleys! Got it?!!!

Until the idiot politicians find a way to collect and destroy all of the illegal firearms, they should stop worrying about all of the citizens carrying legal firearms.

Happy Frakkin’ Labor Day.

And let slip the dogs of war. – Bill Shakespeare

Philadelphia’s murder rate is gaining national attention as it continues to climb following a deadly weekend. During a news conference Monday police said 37 shootings in 72 hours left six people dead, bringing the city’s murder rate to 232 homicides for the year.

“Homicide is working around the clock to gather witnesses to find out what happened,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson. “We had absolutely no witnesses in none of the homicides. No one has come forward at all.”

Lack of witnesses is a growing trend in Philadelphia making crime solving difficult.

“It is very discouraging that people don’t come forward. Not realizing that they are safer with the person in custody than the person still walking the street,” Johnson said. (H/T – CBS3)

For those of you not keeping count – or not checking out First In’s Murder Meter – Philadelphia’s homicide count now stands at 234. And it’s only July 23rd. At this rate, we will shatter last year’s number of 406. Shatter it!

Meanwhile, the idiots and mental defectives that occupy Philadelphia City Council are suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for not allowing the city to make its own gun laws! I guess City Council is upset about that pesky State’s Rights thing. Unfortunately, while City Council is fiddling in court, Rome is burning with cordite. What the politicians (mostly Democrats – go figure) do not understand is that they could completely outlaw guns within the city limits, a la Tombstone in 1881, and the homicides will continue. Why?

BECAUSE THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE HOMICIDES ARE NOT DOING IT WITH LEGAL GUNS!!! THEY ARE EITHER STRAW PURCHASES OR OUTRIGHT STOLEN!!!

Good grief, how many times have I written those sentences here in the last two years? If and when Philadelphia City Council stops grandstanding in favor of utilizing some common sense, maybe a better solution will be forthcoming.

Don’t hold your breath.