House Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order Releases Third Report

HARRISBURG – Rep. John Lawrence (R-Chester/Lancaster), chairman of the House Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order, released the following statement after the committee approved its Third Report to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives:

“This report builds on the previous work of the committee, outlining Philadelphia’s continued deterioration of law and order on Larry Krasner’s watch.

“Statistics publicly available on the District Attorney’s Office website confirm an undeniable and dramatic increase of murders, carjackings, assaults, and crimes committed with a firearm in recent years. Unfortunately, DA Krasner has routinely demonstrated that he places his failed policies above public safety, all the while maintaining a fanciful position that his failure to prosecute criminal activity has not contributed to the statistically significant historic rise in violent crimes.

“The Third Report outlines DA Krasner’s Orwellian tendency to ignore problematic facts, blame others for his evident failures, and paint a rosy picture that contradicts the grim reality obvious to those around him. This is not hyperbole. As rates of violent crime inarguably increased, DA Krasner told Temple University students in 2019 that his prosecutorial policies were an ‘experiment’ that are ‘effective at keeping crime down and healing society.’

“As Larry Krasner presides over the most serious crisis of crime in a generation and watches the city sink further into the abyss, he regrettably chooses to alienate natural allies including the Attorney General, the Mayor, a series of police commissioners, and even his own staff. This pattern of behavior extended to the Select Committee itself, whose work DA Krasner hindered from very beginning, even suing the committee in a case currently before the Commonwealth Court.

“The Select Committee’s Third Report also contains a series of concrete recommendations to help restore law and order in the City of Philadelphia. However, no recommendation or proposal can replace effective prosecution of crime by a district attorney committed to the rule of law. Leading voices across the political and legal landscape have expressed grave concerns about the district attorney’s actions, and I share these concerns.

“As Chairman, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Krasner will not change his ways. In my view, as long as he holds the office of district attorney, the city will struggle to maintain law and order. And those who will suffer the most will be the citizens of Philadelphia, needlessly terrorized by violent criminals who should be behind bars.

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Editor’s Note: Below are the Supporting Materials from the Select Committee’s Third Report: