EDITORIAL

Crime stats and the city

Good, but with state help, could be better.

There were still 104,658 major crimes reported in Philadelphia last year, a total that won't encourage anyone to get rid of the Club for the steering wheel or to stop bolting shut the front door.

But new statistics show crime was down slightly in 1999 and even more so during the first two months of 2000.

What's most worth celebrating about the numbers is that, for the first time in years, residents and visitors can have some confidence that the figures are real. Police Commissioner John F. Timoney has cracked down on the police tradition of ignoring some crime reports and downgrading others to make the stats more palatable.

In fact, the decrease in crime even includes higher numbers of reported rapes, thanks to accurate reporting by a much more motivated rape unit.

Crime is down generally around the nation, including in many big cities, and experts attribute much of the improvement to a strong economy.

But several watchdog groups and police experts do give Mr. Timoney, a former top police official in New York City, notable credit for reforms. These include an honest crime tracking system that bolsters decisions about deployment and tactics. Under Mr. Timoney, police captains are more active and accountable, and officers better led and trained. The commissioner says he could make greater progress with some help from Harrisburg.

He'd like to see the legislature pass a law restricting gun purchases to one a month per person. It's not a panacea, but the city's top cop thinks it would help reduce criminals' access to guns.

He'd also like the state Department of Transportation to end the stupid practice of issuing the registration stickers now affixed to license plates, which are easy to steal. Instead, it should copy the smart states that put stickers inside car windshields.

Finally, he pines for changes in a flawed state arbitration process that thwarts the termination of those few police officers who have committed serious misdeeds such as misusing firearms, using illegal narcotics, committing assault and thievery.

These modest changes, urged by a proven crime-fighter, could probably get done with some leadership from Gov. Ridge, another fellow who likes to consider himself tough on crime.