100 Shooting Review Committee Report

The City of Philadelphia has been plagued by a wave of senseless gun violence. In 2021 alone, there were over 2,300 victims of shootings in our city. That is roughly six shootings per day. That is unacceptable. As Desmond Tutu stated, “there comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.” As Chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Safety, it was imperative to me that we understand what is happening. We created the 100 Shooting Review Committee to examine the root causes of gun violence and make recommendations for how to proceed in addressing them. Due to the increasing rates of crime, we expanded the Committee's purview to examine 2,000+ shootings. This Committee came together as a synergy. A synergy is defined as the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. This Committee is just that. We wish to acknowledge the resources and commitments contributed by each of the individual agencies, departments and staff in the creation of this report. I would like to thank the Police Commissioner, District Attorney, Chief Defender, City Controller, Managing Director, First Judicial District, and the Department of Public Health, along with their staff members, for their dedication to this project. At the end of the day, it is important to remember what this report is: a view of the same issue through a variety of different lenses; and what it is not: a solution to the problem, but a redefining of the question. I would like to offer my sincere thank you to everyone who contributed to this project… now let's get to work!