Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer gave a roadmap of where crime has been in the county and how it stacks up now, while noting challenges and how they are being addressed along the way.

“Delaware County is a unique place,” he recently told the county council. “When you compare it to its three other sister suburban counties (Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties), we are both the smallest in terms of area, we are the poorest in terms of median income and we are the most violent when it comes to to homicides. .

“Over the last 20 years, Delaware County has not only had the most homicides of any of those other three counties, but we’ve had more than the other three counties combined,” he said, adding that’s what It prompted him to make violent use of weapons. crime was a priority when he was first elected.

He noted the creation of the Gun Violence Task Force and the Chester Partnership for Safe Neighborhoods in 2020.

“We have significantly reduced the number of shootings and homicides in that city,” he said. “As of October 1, we still have a 54% decrease in the city of Chester in incidents of gun violence than when we started this program in 2020. That is a notable change in behavior in the city of Chester.”

This even after the rise of gun violence in the city earlier this year.

“It became a critical situation because we didn’t have enough police officers on the street to either protect the residents or protect each other,” Stollsteimer said, adding that the council provided funding so park police could come to work. to Chester doing turnkey functions, which will allow more of the city’s police officers to hit the streets. “That has reduced the number of shootings.”

He also highlighted the creation of the Non-Fatal Shooting Unit in which four detectives were hired for the team.

Stollsteimer said law enforcement has also focused on the area of ​​the county known as Sector 4, including communities on the eastern edge such as Sharon Hill, Collingdale, Darby and Darby Township.

“We’ve had remarkable success in getting serious drug dealers off those streets,” he said, crediting Councilman Richard Womack for letting his office know what’s happening in these places.

“Last year, according to Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reports, … we reduced the number of homicides in Delaware County by 29%,” Stollsteimer said.

He pointed to Upper Darby as an example of success, saying they have been replicating the intelligence and data-driven method used in Chester to determine the 1% of people who are responsible for 75% to 80% of shootings.

“The reduction in violent crime in Upper Darby right now is staggering,” the district attorney said. “As of July, the number of homicides in that municipality was reduced by more than 80%.”

Stollsteimer also talked about reducing the prison population through the central charging process and the diversion unit.

“Today there is more than a third less population in George W. Hill than before I took office,” he said. “I think that’s a great thing for all Delaware County taxpayers. Someone sitting in jail being watched by a guard you’re paying is worthless compared to making sure that person doesn’t go back out on the street and reoffend… If they don’t get the help they need, we’re going back to the system. ”.

He spoke about the Narcotics Task Force.

“We didn’t want to make small marijuana purchases anymore,” he said. “We wanted to go after the major drug traffickers who are selling the fentanyl that is killing people in Delaware County and throughout this community.”

And he also talked about the Child Abuse Task Force.

“We have police officers from each of the different municipal police departments that want to specialize to make sure that we process these cases in their entirety,” he said.

He also highlighted the improvement of the Children’s Advocacy Center, where children who are abused or suspected of having been abused by an adult receive a forensic interview.

“It takes care of the child, it takes care of the family and it gives us the opportunity to hopefully stop the abuse in the future,” Stollsteimer said.

He also talked about how his office and County Council President Dr. Monica Taylor are working on the Delaware County Safe Schools Collaborative.

It’s like an evolution of the Safe Schools Summit that was created after Columbine brought together authorities and schools to talk about how to make buildings physically safer, he said.

The collaboration brings together law enforcement, educators and emergency services personnel for quarterly meetings and real-time discussion about issues seen in schools, such as behavioral issues.

“It’s not a one-time conversation, it’s an ongoing conversation and it’s ongoing work that needs to be done with us and all of our school districts,” Taylor said, highlighting his emphasis on providing access to mental health services to those who need it.

Councilman Kevin Madden highlighted the work being done in Stollsteimer’s office.

“There’s never really a ‘mission accomplished’ moment… but the progress that’s been made in recent years is truly remarkable,” he said.