15th Captain: “not the old district of 10 years ago”

Captain Frank Bachmayer has 28 years with the Philadelphia Police Department, including his eight as captain.

And his message to residents who attended last night’s Holmesburg Civic Association is something he made sure to hammer home: the 15th District is “not the old district of 10 years ago.”

Meaning, he explained, that the busy district has its share of crime — more than just the quality of life issues some residents focus on.

Bachmayer told the 15 meeting attendees (an unusually small crowd for the HCA) that the 15th is the busiest and most populated district in Philadelphia, leading the city in robberies.  “And it’s not just in Frankford,” he emphasized.

The captain, who grew up in Mayfair and attended St. Tim’s and Father Judge, said reducing robberies is his No. 1 goal for the 10 1/2 square mile district, though that doesn’t mean he ignores the quality of life issues like curfews and truancy, the latter of which the 15th District leads the city in violations.

Though the district isn’t crime free, Bachmayer presented updated statistics to show improvement:

• 34 fewer robberies with a gun since this time last year
• 13 fewer strong-arm robberies since this time last year

Before leaving in a hurry to attend to an injured officer, Bachmayer touched on the importance of Police Service Areas, saying he is grateful that cops are no longer “chasing the radio,” and adding that 90 percent of calls are now being handled by officers in their respective PSAs.

In the video below, Bachmayer answers Holmesburg residents’ questions.

Bachmayer announced the district will host monthly meetings for the three PSA zones — of which Holmesburg lies in the third — for residents to address pressing, ongoing neighborhood issues.

“[PSAs] are about stakeholders in a community identifying a specific problem,” he said, “and coming together to solve it.”

Also at last night’s meeting…Captain Bachmayer announced there were only four arrests connected with last weekend’s Erin Express and Shamrock Shuttle events…Civic Association Fred Moore said the executive board will host an open house in May for everyone in the neighborhood…Next month’s meeting will feature a representative from the 8th District and someone from the Office of Emergency Management.