Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy was discussed in a July 17 article by The Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Abington police chief blamed Philly for a crime. It’s the second time this month a neighboring community has done so.”
Chief Molloy publicly expressed frustration over a recent child abduction attempt at the Willow Grove Park Mall because the accused abductor, Khalilh Evans, has an extensive criminal history in Philadelphia and Montgomery County. He was paroled in January by a Montgomery County judge.
From the article:
Abington Police Chief Patrick Molloy laced into the city on Thursday, specifically targeting Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, after an Oak Lane man was charged with allegedly attempting to abduct at 14-year-old girl at the Willow Grove Park Mall the day before.
Molloy’s comments marked the latest examples of public officials in places outside of Philadelphia blaming the city for its approach to crime.
“I think some of the failed policies in Philadelphia, with the District Attorney’s Office, where it’s somewhat of a revolving door, where dangerous felons are let back onto the streets to prey upon our citizens,” Molloy said during a July 13 news conference. “This is a particularly disturbing case because these are innocent children. This shouldn’t have happened. He should’ve been detained. He should have been in jail.”
According to the article, Abington Township Board of Commissioners president Thomas Hecker said he had received no pushback for Chief Molloy’s comments.
“What I think the chief did was express his assessment of the factors,” Hecker said.
Philly Mayor Jim Kenney told The Inquirer that Chief Molloy’s comments are an “oversimplification” of a complex issue and hinder the region’s ability to address crime. He said:
I think it’s telling when anyone describes a complex and enormous issue like crime or violence as belonging to any one city. That level of oversimplification is not encouraging. Our region and our entire country are grappling with a crisis of violence and needed criminal justice reforms, and we’re only going to succeed if we’re willing to work together on a shared vision of public safety across all communities.
For the full article, you can click here. To watch Chief Molloy’s press conference from last week, you can click here.
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