Editing Michael Nutter (section)

== Crime and Public Safety ==

Crime reduction was one of Nutter's most notable achievements. When he took office, Philadelphia's murder rate, while declining from historical highs, remained unacceptably elevated. Nutter appointed Charles Ramsey, former chief of Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police, as police commissioner. Ramsey brought modern management techniques and community policing philosophy. The murder rate declined significantly during Nutter's tenure, reaching levels not seen in decades. The improvements resulted from multiple factors—national trends, economic conditions, policing strategies—but Nutter's administration claimed credit for making public safety a priority and implementing effective approaches.<ref name="kromer"/>

Police-community relations remained challenging. Stop-and-frisk practices, while credited with reducing gun violence, generated complaints about racial profiling and constitutional violations. A federal lawsuit over stop-and-frisk resulted in a consent decree requiring reforms. Tensions between police and African American communities—a national issue that gained visibility through incidents in Ferguson, Baltimore, and elsewhere—affected Philadelphia despite its Black mayor and diverse police leadership. Nutter defended police while acknowledging the need for reform, a balancing act that satisfied neither critics nor defenders of aggressive policing.<ref name="salisbury"/>