Arrests for guns and drugs in Kensington are not the solution, but it’s a start | Editorial

The photo op that many have been waiting for appeared this week when Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw stood next to a table full of drugs and guns to announce the arrests of 175 people in Kensington after a warrant sweep. Even Mayor Jim Kenney, who’s been counting down the days until his term ends, showed up! (Please clap.)

We jest, but mainly out of frustration that it has taken so long to see substantive action in Kensington. This forgotten neighborhood has been left to its own devices for far too long. Meanwhile, city leaders have been largely missing in action.

So it was a welcome sign to see Outlaw, Kenney, and other law enforcement and administration officials step up. It was also encouraging to see the police work with the FBI, the DEA, the local office of Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, SEPTA, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and the city health department.

That’s the kind of coordination needed to tackle such an intractable problem. Just as the rapid repair of the I-95 bridge showed that city, state, and federal officials can come together to take on a big challenge, the same level of attention is needed in Kensington.

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However, there is no quick fix. The three-day roundup netted 27 guns and more than $1 million worth of drugs. A dozen people were charged with illegal gun possession as well as drug crimes. Another 10 had outstanding warrants tied to violent crimes, including three suspected of participating in shootings.

This was a good first step, but it’s only a drop in the bucket in Kensington, where police have identified 80 open-air drug markets in a 1.9-mile stretch that does $1 billion a year in business and is known nationally as the Walmart of heroin.

More crackdowns will be needed to make the streets of Kensington safe for its resilient residents. Arrests for drug sales have plummeted in recent years, as have prosecutions, data show.

Arrests are not the only answer, of course. Research has shown the war on drugs not only failed but worsened the problem. That’s why intervention and treatment are needed for those who have substance abuse problems, not arrests. City leaders must also work to support the unhoused living on the streets of Kensington.

However, District Attorney Larry Krasner, the former public defender who promised to stop prosecuting drug possession and prostitution, must act against drug dealers and violent offenders.

At the same time, more investment is critical. Gov. Josh Shapiro should ensure a larger portion of the $2.2 billion that Pennsylvania is expected to receive over the next 18 years from settlements with makers and distributors of opioids goes to Kensington.

» READ MORE: It’s going to take more than $20 million to help the people of Kensington | Editorial

Earlier this year, Kenney announced plans to distribute $20 million in settlement funds to community groups in the beleaguered neighborhood to fund various efforts, including overdose prevention, home repairs, and improvements to parks and schools. That is a good down payment, but much more will be needed in a place that has been largely ignored even as it was ravaged by the opioid crisis.

To be sure, the city has launched periodic drug busts and gun arrests in Kensington. Efforts going back decades have also been made to shut down homeless encampments in the neighborhood. Yet the problems persist.

One warrant sweep — or two, or three — won’t make much of a difference. There needs to be a coordinated and sustained effort to end the human tragedy that unfolds daily in Kensington. Unlike fixing I-95, this is not a two-week job, and the stakes are much higher.