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From YouTube: Police Commissioner Outlaw Testifies Before the Special Committee on Gun Violence 2-20-2020
Description
From the hearing of Council's Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention held Thursday, February 20, 2020:
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw testifies before the Special Committee on the effect of gun violence on victims and co-victims.
A
Commissioner,
if
you
can
just
teach
your
name
for
the
record
and
then
begin
your
testimony
when
you
were
ready,
sure
Danielle
outlaw
police
commissioner
good
afternoon
councilman,
Johnson
and
other
members
of
the
Special
Committee
on
gun
violence
prevention,
my
name
as
I
stated-
is
Daniel
outlaw
and
I.
Am
the
police,
commissioner
for
the
Philadelphia
Police
Department
I'm
here
with
Deputy
Commissioner?
A
He
just
stepped
out
Dennis
Wilson
from
special
operations
chief
inspector,
frank
menure
from
the
detective
bureau
chief
inspector
Joe
Dale's
from
the
patrol
bureau
inspector
altovise
love
Craig
head
from
the
Community
Relations
Unit
and
I
also
have
commissioners
Wimberly
and
culture
with
me.
First,
thank
you
for
allowing
the
Philadelphia
Police
Department
to
be
a
part
of
these
proceedings
and
to
allow
me
to
identify
the
efforts
currently
in
place
to
serve
crime
victims
in
the
city
of
Philadelphia.
A
Please.
Let
me
state
at
the
outset
that
a
core
tenet
of
the
police
departments
mission
is
to
provide
quality
service
to
all
residents
and
visitors.
This
includes
providing
quality
service
and
compassion
to
the
direct
and
indirect
victims
of
crime
throughout
Philadelphia,
most
specifically,
as
stated
in
the
Pennsylvania
crime
victims
Act,
the
Philadelphia
Police
Department,
firmly
believes
that
all
victims
of
crime
deserve
to
be
treated
with
dignity.
Respect,
courtesy
and
sensitivity
also
keep
in
mind
that
many
times
crime
victims
are
often
the
most
vulnerable
in
our
communities
and
they
deserve
nothing
less.
A
First,
the
victim
services
unit
is
a
centralized
unit
within
the
community
relations
Bureau
that
oversees
the
operations
and
training
of
victim
assistance
officers.
These
officers
are
embedded
into
each
Police
District,
the
airport,
Special
Victims
Unit,
and
the
Homicide
Unit,
the
victim
assistance
officers
are
charged
with
ensuring
the
department
applies
with
Pennsylvania
crime,
victims,
Act,
the
Pennsylvania
crime
victims
act
by
providing
supportive
services
and
connecting
victims
with
the
victim's
compensation
assistance
program.
A
Individuals
who
are
injured
during
crime
may
be
compensated
for
uninsured
or
unreimbursed.
Will
medical
expenses,
counseling
relocation,
expenses,
crime,
scene,
clean-up
expenses
and
loss
of
earnings
in
the
case
of
death,
funeral
expenses
and
loss
of
support
may
be
constant
compensated
to
those
who
qualify
under
this
program
on
behalf
of
sexual
assault
victims,
health
care
providers
may
submit
claims
for
the
costs
associated
with
forensic
rape
examinations
when
medical
insurance
is
not
available
or
the
victim
chooses
not
to
access
their
health
insurance.
A
However,
the
victim
assistance
officers
do
much
more
than
just
connect
the
victims
to
victim's
compensation
assistance
program.
They
will
personally
coordinate
resources
for
crime
victims
based
on
individualized
needs,
for
example,
victims
of
gun
violence
may
require
transportation
to
and
from
court
and
counseling
for
themselves
and
family
members.
While
the
victims
of
domestic
gun
violence
may
have
these
same
needs,
the
domestic
nature
of
their
incident
will
prompt
a
more
specific
response
regarding
resources
such
as
connecting
the
victims
to
women
against
abuse
and
assisting
and
obtaining
protection
from
abuse,
orders
obtaining
temporary
housing
or
possible
relocation.
A
The
victim
assistance
officers
are
trained
in
the
requirements
set
forth
in
the
pennsylvania
crime,
victims
act
and
attend
monthly
training
sessions
organized
by
the
victim
assistance
unit,
which
includes
identifying
best
practices,
service
provider,
updates,
new
available
resource
for
victims
and
departmental
updates.
The
goal
of
this
continuous
training
is
to
constantly
improve
Victim
Services
and
support
in
Philadelphia
toward
this
goal.
The
victim
services
unit
also
maintains
a
network
of
victim
advocates
and
service
providers
reaching
beyond
the
borders
of
Philadelphia.
A
These
services
are
for
victims
all
victims
in
Philadelphia,
but
we
have
taken
additional
measures
when
assisting
the
families
of
homicide
victims,
specifically
continuing
on
the
success
of
a
collaborative
reform
process
with
the
Justice
Department.
Regarding
the
use
of
force,
the
department
recently
contracted
the
police
executive,
Research
Forum,
to
conduct
a
collaborative
review
of
the
processes
and
procedures
in
the
Philadelphia
Homicide
Unit.
Consequently,
over
70
recommendations
were
made
to
improve
the
Homicide
Unit,
and
many
of
those
recommendations
have
already
been
implemented
relevant
to
today's
hearing.
A
These
standardized
procedures
will
ensure
that
each
and
every
victims
family
will
receive
fair
and
consistent
services.
In
addition
to
these
protocols,
the
Homicide
Unit
is
in
the
process
of
finalizing
its
next-of-kin
meeting.
Protocol
were
assigned
detectives
and
supervisors
from
the
Homicide
Unit
will
meet
with
family
members
to
provide
updates
to
the
criminal
cases,
but,
more
importantly,
to
let
the
families
know
that
we
have
not
forgotten
their
loved
one
and
we
will
never
stop
searching
for
those
responsible
along
the
lines
of
never
forgetting
and
being
ever
vigilant.
A
Specifically,
each
individual
unsolved
murder
case
has
its
own
dedicated
page
on
the
website,
and
each
page
includes
a
forum
at
the
bottom,
where
users
can
submit
tips
either
using
their
names
or
anonymously.
Equally
important
family
members
of
victims
can
contribute
photos
and
provide
reflections
about
their
loved
ones.
The
site
also
includes
reward
information
and
videos
released
by
detectives.
This
will
allow
the
family
members
to
have
an
outlet
to
reflect
on
their
loved
ones,
so
the
stories
are
not
forgotten.
A
A
A
Lieutenant
Davenport
recognized
this
need
to
assist
these
families,
but
so
did
the
staff
at
Temple
University
emergency
department.
So
together
a
Memorandum
of
Understanding
was
created
between
the
Homicide
Unit
and
Temple
University
Hospital.
That
would
not
only
allow
all
evidence
to
be
preserved,
but
would
also
allow
those
families
wish
to
see
their
loved
ones
the
opportunity
to
do
so.
This
man
I
seem
like
a
lot
on
his
face,
but
to
the
families
that
allows
everything
to
slow
down
in
a
hectic
environment
and
for
the
grieving
process
to
begin
with
dignity
and
respect.
A
Empathy
and
compassion
was
the
impetus
for
this
collaboration,
and
we
look
forward
to
working
with
all
emergency
departments
throughout
the
city
to
establish
similar
protocols,
as
I
conclude
I'd
like
to
leave
you
with
this.
You
all
know
that
I'm
new
to
my
position
and
many
have
asked
my
plans
to
address
violent
crime
here
in
Philadelphia.
This
includes
our
efforts
to
serve
victims
of
crime
and
their
loved
ones
in
the
city
of
Philadelphia
and
while
I'm,
just
in
my
second
week,
I
want
to
be
very
clear.
A
There
is
a
sense
of
urgency
among
us
in
comprehensively
addressing
violent
crime,
specifically
gun
violence
that
desperately
impacts
our
communities
recognizing.
It
is
a
flexible
living
document.
We
will
continue
to
work
within
the
parameters
of
the
Philadelphia
roadmap
to
safer
communities
established
in
January
2019
via
operation,
pin
point
I
believe
in
the
very
basic
tenets
of
procedural
justice,
voice,
neutrality,
respect
and
trust,
I
believe
in
the
inclusion
of
local
state
and
federal
partners
to
assist
with
crime
prevention
and
harm
reduction
strategies.
I
believe
in
the
use
of
data
to
inform
strategic
deployment
of
resources.
A
This
is
not
an
insurmountable
task.
I
also
look
forward
to
hearing
from
those
who
will
be
testifying
today.
Their
stories
and
their
insight
will
give
us
the
opportunity
to
learn
how
we
can
improve
the
services
that
we
provide.
This
concludes
my
testimony
I.
Thank
you
again
for
the
opportunity
to
present
to
each
and
every
one
of
you
and
I
do
have
subject
matter
experts
from
within
the
police
department
here
with
me
today
to
answer
any
follow-up
questions
that
you
may
have.
Thank
you.