Danielle Outlaw has pledged to work to tackle “insidious gun violence” after being announced as the first female black police commissioner in Philadelphia.
Ms Outlaw was in the Oakland Police Department in California for nearly 20 years but recently served as the police chief in the US city of Portland for around two years.
The murder rate in Portland decreased under Ms Outlaw’s watch but the city has far lower homicide levels than Philadelphia. While there were more than 350 homicides in Philadelphia in 2018, there were 33 in Portland in 2018.
Philadelphia’s police force has been plagued by scandals in the past year – including a sexual harassment lawsuit which prompted ex-Commissioner Richard Ross to resign.
Ms Outlaw made her first public appearance since her new role was announced in Philadelphia City Hall on Monday.
Pressed about how she believes the policing of substance abuse should be dealt with, she said: “I do not believe that first responders should be the ones dealing with these issues because they are not crimes”.
Kurgen