Police: Most felonies in the 39th District occur during the day shift

October’s total for felony crimes in Philadelphia’s 39th Police District is on pace to match September’s figure.

According to district records, there were 123 Part 1 offenses reported in September. As of Oct. 24, there were 95. Part 1 offenses include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and, among others, arson. The majority of those incidents are taking place during the district’s day shift.

“Over 50 percent of Part 1 [crimes] occur between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.,” said Lt. Edward Bier during Tuesday night’s Police Service Area 1 meeting at the Veterans Affairs Administration Building in Germantown.

Bier also told a handful of residents that incident totals for a number of crime categories were up in September. Those categories are: residential burglaries, thefts from autos, car thefts, armed robberies and aggravated assaults. Commercial burglaries and strong arm robberies were down during that same period.

Neighbors asked why crime totals aren’t decreasing. Bier cited a number of reasons, but pegged most it to the district being understaffed. He pointed specifically to the small number of officers on patrol.

“The officers are doing the best they can,” Bier said.

The city’s 39th Police District covers parts of Germantown, East Falls and North Philadelphia. The majority of PSA 1, which covers about a third of the district, runs roughly from Lincoln Drive below Walnut Lane to just south of Roosevelt Boulevard and from Germantown Avenue to Kelly Drive.