Task force on illegal guns claims success

With the primary to elect a new District Attorney just days away, today law enforcement officials announced a partnership between the D.A. and the Attorney General has hit a milestone. The Gun Violence Task Force has made more than 300 arrests, since it began.

With the primary to elect a new District Attorney just days away, today law enforcement officials announced a partnership between the D.A. and the Attorney General has hit a milestone. The Gun Violence Task Force has made more than 300 arrests, since it began.

In December 2006, D.A. Lynne Abraham and Attorney General Tom Corbett launched the Gun Violence Task Force with funding from the State Legislature. They said veteran investigators and prosecutors, would work with the Philadelphia Police Department to attack the proliferation of illegal guns on city streets.

Ralph Taylor is a criminal justice professor at Temple University.

Taylor: The natural question that arises is how many of these folks will actually get convicted, how long will they go away for? And will there be a demonstrable improvement in public safety directly attributable to these efforts?

In addition to new arrests, the District Attorney’s Office also announced that three gun traffickers previously arrested by the Task Force, have been convicted.