Congressman Meuser Joins House Judiciary Committee for Field Hearing in Philadelphia to Examine Violent Crime

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) joined Chairman Jim Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee for a Field Hearing in Philadelphia to address rising crime. The hearing, "Victims of Violent Crime in Philadelphia," examined how District Attorney Larry Krasner's pro-criminal policies have emboldened criminals at the expense of victims and city residents.

Philadelphia’s anti-law enforcement policies, which include defunding the Philadelphia Police Department by $66 million in recent years, coupled with District Attorney Larry Krasner withdrawing and dismissing 66% of violent crime cases in 2022, have hardened criminals and led to a rise in violent crime. For example, homicides have increased by 30.15% since Krasner took office.

Congressman Meuser said, “Perhaps the greatest responsibility of a government is to assure the safety and well-being of its citizens. But far too often, woke District Attorneys, such as Larry Krasner, fail to pursue charges against criminals wreaking havoc in our communities. Instead, prosecutors like Krasner have inserted their own ideological, political agenda into the justice system, undoing the work of law enforcement to get criminals off the street. Larry Krasner’s unwillingness to prosecute arrests has emboldened criminals in Philadelphia as they now believe their illegal, violent actions will go unpunished. We have seen the devastating result of this soft-on-crime, anti-police mentality as crime in Philadelphia has skyrocketed since Krasner was elected. We cannot allow George Soros-backed ideologues to defund our police departments and release criminals back onto our streets. We must correct course, Back the Blue, and advocate for tough-on-crime policies that will restore law and order in our communities. I thank Chairman Jordan for holding today’s hearing and for shining a light on the serious issues facing Philadelphia.”

Congressman Meuser recently introduced legislation to curb ideological prosecutors’ ability to allow violent criminals to go unpunished. H.R. 6999, the Holding Prosecutors Accountable Act seeks to force weak-on-crime prosecutors to do their jobs and uphold our state and federal laws. This legislation would make prosecutors’ offices that fail to prosecute at least 67% of arrests for violent crimes ineligible for Department of Justice Byrne Grants, which is the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions.Additionally, the legislation would require prosecutors’ offices that serve jurisdictions larger than 380,000 people to publish their prosecution rate data on an annual basis. Most jurisdictions do not make such data public, and the American people have the right to know how many criminals their local, often elected, prosecutor is releasing without pursuing charges.

Congressman Meuser’s remarks and questioning of witnesses can be found here.

Witnesses in Attendance:

• Nick Gerace, Retired Philadelphia police officer
• Terri O'Connor, Widow of slain Philadelphia police officer
• Pauline Fitzgerald, Mother of Temple University Police Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald who was murdered in the line of duty and former Philadelphia police officer
• Joel Fitzgerald, Father of Temple University Police Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald who was murdered in the line of duty and former Philadelphia police officer
• George Bochetto, Philadelphia Trial Attorney

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