ALLENTOWN NEARS SLAYING RECORD

Authorities Say Gangs, Drug Activity Push Up Homicide Numbers.

An increase in suspected drug-or gang-related killings is driving up
Allentown's homicide rate, with the city nearing its record of 21
slayings set two years ago.

Through Friday, there have been 20 homicides in the city. Police
believe 15 may have connections to drugs, gangs or both, said Ron
Manescu, assistant police chief.

That puts 75 percent of the slayings into that category, up from 67
percent last year and 48 percent two years ago.

Manescu said it may be a change in the demeanor of street gangs and
drug rings, not necessarily an increase in their numbers, that is
driving up the killings.

"I think it's getting more violent," he said. "They need to maintain
their territory, so to speak. Any disagreements they may have with
one another end up resulting very violently. They're not talking
about this, obviously."

Detectives are continuing to investigate the latest three killings,
which happened Wednesday when two men were shot outside a corner
grocery at Fourth and Allen streets and a man was found beaten and
shot in the woods on the east side.

Mayor Ed Pawlowski said he intends to unveil a "total" restructuring
of the police force next year, designed to combat the underlying drug
and gang problems leading to the homicides.

Other changes will include instituting civilian patrols by area crime
watch groups.

Pawlowski said he spent his first two years in office reviving
Allentown financially, and now will focus on making it safer and
cleaning up its image as a crime-ridden city -- an image he said is
unfair. Overall crime dropped 2.65 percent last year and is down
12.46 percent this year, he said. He lives in center city, and he
said he feels safe and does not fear for his family.

Pawlowski knows the city must improve its homicide rate to improve
its image, and that the homicides make some residents worry. But he
said the killings are not random.

"It's very specific and deliberate toward people who are in gangs and
drugs," Pawlowski said. "Mostly, it's bad guys shooting bad guys."

Allentown police say they are doing what they can to stop the
violence and to solve the crimes that have occurred. They are working
with state and federal agencies, and with regional efforts such as
the Route 222 anti-gang task force to fight problems stretching from
Easton to Harrisburg.

Allentown has started its own anti-gang task force and other
specialized law enforcement units. It's setting up a system of
surveillance cameras, one of which videotaped a car used in one
shooting. Noted criminologist George Kelling is starting a yearlong
study of the force, and could recommend changes to make it more
efficient and effective.

But Allentown police continue to work shorthanded because of a slew
of controversial early retirements in the past few years. That
problem may worsen next year.

Hiring more officers, though, isn't the complete solution, Chief
Roger MacLean said, noting that at least one study, done in the
Midwest, shows that increasing patrols in a city does not help.

And much of what happens after dark is driven by things beyond
officers' control, authorities say, such as more troublemakers from
New York moving here and the simple economic fact that teens can earn
more cash selling drugs than working monotonous, minimum-wage jobs.

"It's a whole societal issue that we've got to look at," Mac-Lean
said. "We've got to attack it from all ends."

This month, Pawlowski announced the creation of a city Office of
Faith-Based Initiatives that will work with houses of worship to try
to resolve some of the toughest problems.

MacLean said the city intends to reinstitute its DARE and anti-gang
programs in Allentown schools.

Officials say drug-related homicides usually have some connection to
street gangs.

"I think it's obvious that we have gang issues and drug issues and
they go hand-in-hand," Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin
said. "Drugs drive people to get money. And how do you get money if
you don't have a job? You rob a grocery store."

Martin said the problem is regional, not in the sense that individual
crimes are linked, but that the Lehigh Valley as a whole faces the same issues.

Allentown's continuing struggle with gang violence does not mean
regional anti-gang efforts are failing, he said.

"What it shows is that the problem is a lot larger than people either
appreciate or are willing to acknowledge," he said. "It's a tough problem."

The region eventually will see results from the 222 anti-gang
initiatives, said Robert Reed, deputy chief of the criminal division
of the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia.

"The ease of the commute from the New York area made the Lehigh
Valley a ripe area for drug dealers," Reed said. "But you have to
consider there are 37,000 police officers in New York City and 1,100
between Easton and Harrisburg. That presents a challenge to law
enforcement, given the sheer size of the area and the number of
officers, which is why we have the task force."

The region's cities are relatively small and don't have a lot of
minority officers, so it's tough for the officers to go undercover
and infiltrate street gangs because they are known, Martin said.

Couple that with an unusually large number of police retirements, and
the challenge is magnified.

Since late 2005, about 74 officers have retired under lucrative and
controversial early retirement terms.

Many have been replaced, often with younger, less experienced
officers. But as of last week, the department was still short about
20 officers from next year's budgeted 207. Four years ago, there were 242.

"Unfortunately, the Allentown Police Department just doesn't have the
resources at the moment in terms of numbers and experience," Martin
said. "They're doing a great job with what they have. Until they get
their complement back up to where it should be, they're going to be
very short of resources."

Martin said the retirements left the detective squads particularly
shorthanded. That can make it difficult to investigate crime, he
said, because informants who had built relationships with detectives
may be reluctant to trust replacements.

The lack of city detectives is one reason Martin said he created the
district attorney's homicide task force in 2005. Martin's office has
hired some of the retired city detectives, meaning their skills and
sources are being used in Allentown.

Manescu said police investigate all crimes as quickly as possible,
but with fewer investigators, they must prioritize. Perhaps where the
shortage is felt the most is immediately after a crime occurs and
officers make their initial push for information. He said the help
from the district attorney's office has been important.

Martin said he hopes tough prosecutions deter crime: "I hope it sends
a message, but being realistic, I don't know."

He said prosecutors weigh whether state or federal laws would carry
the toughest penalties, and proceed accordingly. Gang members won't
catch a break in either court.

"We prosecute them vigorously," Martin said. "We don't permit any
plea agreements in connection with gang members' cases."

But even a major arrest doesn't always help reduce crime, Manescu
said, because when those drug dealers go behind bars, other criminals
fight for their customers.

"The problem is that sometimes you get bit with your own success,"
Manescu said. "There's a jockeying of position to pick up that void.
In an effort to pick up that business, it ends up getting violent."

Anyone with information can call the anonymous tip line at
610-439-5911. Also crime prevention officer Tim Yanders, at
610-439-5915, can set up residents with a confidential ID number so
they can call 911 and remain anonymous.

[sidebar]

ALLENTOWN HOMICIDES

2005 - 21

15 suspected gang and/or drug-related

2006 - 15

10 suspected gang and/or drug-related

2007 - 20

15 suspected gang and/or drug-related