Philadelphia is tied with Newark, N.J., for the nation's highest fugitive rate, according to U.S. Justice Department statistics, and its defendants skip court with virtual impunity. At last count, there were nearly 47,000 fugitives from Philadelphia criminal courts, and the city had an uncollected debt of $1 billion in forfeited bail.
To make matters worse, the Philadelphia courts have delayed for years sharing bench warrants with the FBI's national database of wanted criminals.
In an interview yesterday, Specter, a former Philadelphia district attorney, called that "an enormous problem."
"It makes the criminal justice system a laughingstock if you can flee and there's no record of your flight," he said, "and you're apprehended somewhere, but you're not returned for trial."
Among other steps, the bill Specter introduced yesterday would steer a total of $50 million over five years to courts and police to help them tie their data into the FBI database.
The money may come too late to be of much use for the Philadelphia system. After delays that city court officials blamed on computer problems, the master list of Philadelphia fugitives is to be put into the FBI database in May, they have said.
That is not soon enough for Specter.
"Every day that goes by, there's additional risk to people being victims of criminal conduct by these people who are fugitives," he said.
On March 4, the senator wrote the city's two top judges to urge the courts to accelerate the timetable. So far, Specter said, he has received no reply from D. Webster Keogh, the administrative judge of Common Pleas Court, and Pamela Pryor Dembe, the president judge.
Dembe could not be reached for comment yesterday. Keogh did not return telephone calls seeking comment.
