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PhillyAccount OP t1_j5ta324 wrote

>The city has suspended a $392,000 antiviolence grant to a youth boxing program founded by a Philadelphia police captain who was removed from his post in October after an Inquirer investigation exposed his chronic absenteeism.
>
>The grant for the Guns Down Gloves Up program, awarded in December 2021 to Epiphany Fellowship Church and Villanova University, is the subject of at least two investigations, a city spokesperson confirmed.
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>Former 22nd District Capt. Nashid Akil had freely described the program as his own ā€” even though city employees are not eligible for city grants.
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>Nearly $76,000 went to Akil and nine other Philadelphia Police Department staffers, according to financial records obtained by The Inquirer. The grant application had specified Akil would not be paid.

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Lunamothknits t1_j5tvxgu wrote

Wow. I didn't think Akil was going to be in the news again so soon but damn.

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jokersflame t1_j5uhcdj wrote

Now how many police officers will be fired over this?

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BrockManstrong t1_j5uqtnb wrote

Well it says Akil was removed, but it doesn't say "fired", so probably none.

Philly Police raking in that taxpayer money not doing shit. Trying to blame rising crime on any nearby progressives.

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[deleted] t1_j5tfbor wrote

[deleted]

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nikc4 t1_j5ti7pr wrote

Are we bootlicking or are we gonna back up that statement

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LFKhael t1_j5tjs1t wrote

Even the byline subheading is:

> The Guns Down Gloves Up program was among 31 grantees awarded $13.5 million by the city. It is now the target of a police Internal Affairs investigation, and a probe by the city Inspector General.

We're getting astroturfed.

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PhillyAccount OP t1_j5twbng wrote

The submission title auto-populates with the information in the social metadata of the article, which in this case is the same as the title. Not everything that rubs you the wrong way is part of some vast right-wing conspiracy.

And yes, I am clearly astroturfing . I actually live in Macedonia.

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apathetic_panda t1_j5u6hz3 wrote

I've been looking for a new olive connect, WYD?

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CallMeMattF t1_j5vfv7m wrote

My man you get that EVOO and you lmk

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apathetic_panda t1_j5y9wlq wrote

I don't chalk out my hustles on reddit.

I gotta see šŸ‘€ the seller, the vines, & the invoice.

My accountant might tap you on the ankle. He doesn't... see.

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TakeItToTheMax t1_j5trqqk wrote

just fyi the byline is the line naming the author

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LFKhael t1_j5tskkl wrote

TIL.

And it's even in the "word" itself. Derp.

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TakeItToTheMax t1_j5txmbk wrote

haha all good. byline is the author, the dateline is where and when the article was published, photo captions are cutlines. just a little in service on news terminology lol

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[deleted] t1_j5ukqf0 wrote

[deleted]

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Marrukaduke t1_j5uxppr wrote

Still not seeing how OP "misrepresented" the article. The points OP highlighted, that money was inappropriately funneled to the Chief and others, and that the whole program is under investigation as a result, is not mutually exclusive from the fact that the program helps people.

The program helping people is pretty irrelevant to the Chief putting money in his pocket from the program when it was explicitly stated he wouldn't get paid.

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Phl_worldwide t1_j5tdypq wrote

> ā€œIt kept my son busy,ā€ she said. ā€œIt taught him a skill. It helped him with his confidence and basically anger management.ā€ > Then, in early December, Gaines was notified that boxing had been canceled. >ā€œIt was upsetting,ā€ she said ā€” and confusing. The vague explanation she received was that one of the officers in charge was transferred.

The real ā€œproblemā€ was that city employees arenā€™t suppose to be receiving these funds. And there is no auditing.

> Urban Affairs Coalition, tasked with disbursing the grant money, said through a spokesperson it held no oversight function.

>That responsibility lies with the cityā€™s Office of Violence Prevention, the grant maker.

>ā€œIt does seem like the way they set it up potentially has some governance concerns,ā€ Harrison said.

ā€œGovernance concernsā€ no shit. City Hall has way too many different offices and tasks forces splitting out duties instead of a more centralized anti-violence initiative

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courageous_liquid t1_j5tog78 wrote

Besides the bonkers shit going on here, especially Bridgette M. (Brawner) Rice, a villanova professor (who wrote the grant for this debacle) who need to absolutely be named and shamed, shoutout to Max Marin and Sam Melamed, good work here.

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Deckard_Macready t1_j5tn9rf wrote

Waitā€¦so the cops were the criminals the whole time?! Iā€™m shocked!

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rhhkeely t1_j5te0yo wrote

Defund the whole crooked system

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themightychris t1_j5tngj8 wrote

don't be so reactionary.

31 programs were funded under this grant.

If the other 30 are all doing good work with no such issues you want them all to lose funding next year because of this one, or should we learn specific lessons from it and find a way to close the gap that doesn't do more harm than good?

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TreeMac12 t1_j5tsrkx wrote

>If the other 30 are all doing good work

Are they? What is the metric and mechanism for oversight?

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themightychris t1_j5u79d2 wrote

that's a reasonable question that someone serious about knowing would have to put a little effort into researching and learning. I assure you there are likely many and understanding any gaps is likely a whole job

just assuming there is none and calling for everything to be dismantled though like OP is lazy and irresponsible

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PhillyPanda t1_j5vf38w wrote

What is there to learn? Kenney hasnt released any evaluations of existing anti-violence initiatives.

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themightychris t1_j5vp57k wrote

You have to appreciate that conducting good evaluations is a huge job, it's expensive and takes a lot of work. Also, self-evaluations aren't worth much so it is most appropriate for them to be done externally

An external one is underway; https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/review-to-determine-effectiveness-of-anti-violence-money-in-philadelphia/article_c9a821d8-7c88-11ec-af77-a798dce3557e.html

Equal Measure is a very reputable program evaluator

The Controller's office has released an analysis: https://controller.phila.gov/philadelphia-audits/fy23-anti-violence-budget/#/

These were very easy to find, so I'm inclined to believe those throwing eggs here just want to throw eggs, not actually evaluate anything

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PhillyPanda t1_j5vt2te wrote

Part of Rhynharts critique is that they havenā€™t released any evaluations of programs.

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themightychris t1_j5vvv4a wrote

who is making that critique? program evaluation is whole other practice from auditing, they would need new funding for expanded staff, and there's already orgs that do program evaluation and it doesn't take the privileged financials access the elected controller gets

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TreeMac12 t1_j5u8onp wrote

>I assure you there are likely many

I assure you there are probably not many.

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LFKhael t1_j5toyvg wrote

The program may continue and seems to be currently operational FWIW.

> Before its suspension, the program had been extended through this June. Other programs that shared the Community Expansion Grant funds have also received extensions. Atwood said the city would be renewing some grants, and opening a new application round in early spring.

> Guns Down Gloves Up continues to operate, under Geeā€™s leadership, at a city recreation center in Graduate Hospital ā€” a temporary arrangement until the program finds a permanent new home, a city spokesperson said.

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ipissexcellence21 t1_j66jfea wrote

If they look they will find more than one of the programs if not most are up to shady shit. These programs are nothing but fraud. If everyone cares so much and isnā€™t stealing have them all volunteer somewhere existing and run these programs way cheaper. It shouldnā€™t cost this much to ā€œkeep kids busyā€

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themightychris t1_j66k7en wrote

and did all this information you have come from anywhere in particular?

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ipissexcellence21 t1_j66p0zs wrote

The information that you can keep kids busy for less? From my own childhood, my local rec center has t ball, basketball, soccer leagues, events all through the summer from pie eating contests, summer camps. No one was spending $400k on boxing lessons.

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JBizznass t1_j5tj8d3 wrote

Is anyone actually surprised that these funds are being mismanaged? Anyone at all? We all saw this coming right? Itā€™s funny, but not at all since that money could have been spent in ways that would actually help the community instead of lining the pockets political cronies and other ineffectual organizations.

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Fat_Head_Carl t1_j5tx26n wrote

> Is anyone actually surprised that these funds are being mismanaged?

Mismanagement of funds in Philadelphia? Preposterous, I say!

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boundfortrees t1_j5tyazj wrote

Keeping kids busy and providing social outlets does help the community.

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ipissexcellence21 t1_j66iswl wrote

Then get someone to volunteer at a ref center and teach boxing classes. It shouldnā€™t cost $400k a year to give a handful of kids boxing lessons.

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User_Name13 t1_j5u42vd wrote

This isn't the responsibility of the taxpayer and it goes way beyond the mandate of city government.

Is the city sitting on so much money that they can casually throw around hundreds of millions of dollars like this every year? Especially on programs that can't even be proven to be effective.

How about instead of spending $200 million on these lofty ideals, they focus on things that traditionally fall within the realm of city government?

Like, gee I don't know, fix the roads?

Fix the water lines that regularly flood parts of the city.

Ya know, the actual work of government.

Philly can't even get the buses to run on time, but they think city government can facilitate something like this?

A model that hasn't been proven to do what it purports to do anywhere else?

That magic is going to happen here in Philly first?

I seriously doubt it.

This from the people that can't manage garbage collection effectively.

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Indiana_Jawns t1_j5u6d82 wrote

>Like, gee I don't know, fix the roads?

I guess it doesn't matter if the streets are red with blood if there aren't any potholes. But don't forget that when the city reengineers the roads to make them safer your just complain about that causing congestions.

>Philly can't even get the buses to run on time

Philly doesn't run SEPTA, you should know this.

>A model that hasn't been proven to do what it purports to do anywhere else?

Anti violence intervention works, the fact that you keep saying it doesn't doesn't change that.

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User_Name13 t1_j5u838a wrote

>Anti violence intervention works, the fact that you keep saying it doesn't doesn't change that.

Then why were there 516 murders in the city last year?

The second bloodiest year in the city's history, but the anti-violence programs are working?

Make it make sense.

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Indiana_Jawns t1_j5u9q9t wrote

"I took cold medicine 5 minutes ago but I still have a cold! This medicine is useless!"

Because, as you know because it's been explained to you multiple times, anti-violence programs take multiple forms, Some are short term interventions and others are longer term solutions. Philly's anti-violence program is brand new and has barely had any time to show results, but you were calling it a failure from the start.

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User_Name13 t1_j5uag20 wrote

>Some are short term interventions and others are longer term solutions. Philly's anti-violence program is brand new and has barely had any time to show results, but you were calling it a failure from the start.

So how many billions will the city have to spend before these anti-violence programs can point to any tangible result?

$1 billion?

$10 billion?

I can't help but think there's better ways to use those funds in a poor city than doing the work that parents are supposed to do.

Parents are supposed to teach their kids not to engage in violence.

This goes way beyond the mandate of city government.

The fact that the city is wasting $200 million on this would be funny if it weren't so sad.

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scatterbrainedpast t1_j5x5yd4 wrote

Its crazy youre being downvoted. What makes anyone think this city can manage funding organizations that have zero oversight and no metrics that can objectively be measured.

As you noted, this city can't even collect fucking garbage.

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Tetsuos_Arm t1_j5tgkbd wrote

Insane that all levels of government just continue to throw money at local police and sheriff departments despite the all the corruption.

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mexheavymetal t1_j5u6ahn wrote

Philadelphia Police misusing and embezzling money? shocker That entire department is a rotten, corrupt drain on city resources

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TreeMac12 t1_j5vcj6w wrote

>corrupt drain on city resources

It's not a drain it's a fountain

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Ng3me t1_j5vf67f wrote

Just give the money to the rec centers to do boxing!

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PhillyAccount OP t1_j5vzmmx wrote

And if cops want to be involved they can volunteer or do so via existing community outreach programs

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12kdaysinthefire t1_j5vphlt wrote

Wow. Who would have EVER guessed that something like this would happen.

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Electr_O_Purist t1_j5tr8rs wrote

So, it was more of a pro-violence grant?

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mexheavymetal t1_j5u6mek wrote

Iā€™m a boxer and I used to teach. As counterintuitive as it sounds, having a constructive outlet for aggression in a disciplined manner is very healthy and helpful to reduce violence. Boxing, as other martial arts, requires a lot of discipline and concentration, itā€™s not just going to hand someone the ability to be able to knock out others.

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LFKhael t1_j5tyn4p wrote

I get it's a thing for kids to do.

People like boxing.

I don't even think the city was defrauded of a worth-investigating amount of money in this case, just someone didn't follow the rules of how these grants were supposed to work.

But boxing? The thing that makes the CTE rates of the NFL look like a gentle sport?

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TokiWart00th88 t1_j5uzy6i wrote

Corrupt government is corrupt, no shit

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JoeMarini t1_j5uo0ns wrote

mismanaged funds in Philadelphia? no way...

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mccula t1_j5va5kv wrote

Iā€™m shocked

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User_Name13 t1_j5tug3q wrote

All these anti-violence programs are corrupt and inept to a certain extent.

These programs go way beyond the mandate of city government.

The city shouldn't have to spend $200 million a year so people don't murder each other.

These programs are attempting to do the work of parents.

A government worker can't ever replace a parent.

No amount of taxpayer dollars can replace the work that a parent does in socializing and raising their child in a way that they respect human life.

We'd be better off spending this $200 million on things that actually improve people's lives.

Instead of burning on $200 million a year on trying to clean up bad parenting, after the fact and the damage is already done.

Bad parenting is the root cause of a lot of our problems in society. Instead of actually addressing the root cause, the city is trying to preemptively put out fires with these BS anti-violence programs that do nothing other than burn taxpayer money with little to nothing to show in terms of results.

Audit all these fake ass non-profits and then shut them down.

They don't do anything.

Parent's should teach kids these values.

The state shouldn't have to do the work that parents should do, this whole thing is ridiculous.

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Indiana_Jawns t1_j5u1i25 wrote

For someone who almost exclusively posts about crime your sure do love to shit on attempts to reduce it.

>These programs are attempting to do the work of parents.

No they aren't.

>A government worker can't ever replace a parent.

Nobody is suggesting they should except for your disingenuous strawman.

>We'd be better off spending this $200 million on things that actually improve people's lives.

Sure, let's take it out of the corrupt PPD's budget.

>Bad parenting is the root cause of a lot of our problems in society.

Sure, just gloss over systematic poverty and generational overincarceration for non-violent drug offenses..

Blaming parents isn't a solution. You offer no tangible solution to stop the violence that's happening NOW. All you do it try to assign blame and you even do that badly. Blaming people is not a solution.

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[deleted] t1_j5u3340 wrote

[removed]

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Indiana_Jawns t1_j5u6ptr wrote

Picking the 10 most recent posts, which are still over 30% related to crime (the fact that you used a different tag doesn't change that), and ignoring years of crime posting is a big LOL

Ignoring the rest of the fact that your "argument" holds no water is an even bigger LOL.

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User_Name13 t1_j5u7mvb wrote

Move those goalposts more buddy.

You made the claim.

I provided evidence to the contrary.

I guess we'll just have to take your word on it since you won't cite any sources the way I just did.

You made a claim insulting my character and then basically said: "Trust me bro" as your evidence.

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Indiana_Jawns t1_j5ubf9u wrote

Pointing out that you used an arbitrary and non-representative sample isn't moving the goalposts, it's pointing out that your arguments are bad.

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User_Name13 t1_j5ufjyi wrote

>For someone who almost exclusively posts about crime your sure do love to shit on attempts to reduce it.

That's what you said.

3 out of 10 of my last posts, which is what I've submitted over the past 2 months here, have been about crime.

Is 3 out of 10 "almost exclusively"?

You made the claim buddy.

Provide the evidence to back up your claim.

Should we just take your word for it?

Cuz I provided proof that would indicate otherwise.

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courageous_liquid t1_j5ube3o wrote

> The city shouldn't have to spend $200 million a year so people don't murder each other.

man, next let me tell you about our $800M+ police budget that continues to grow every year

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ipissexcellence21 t1_j66jwho wrote

A high police budget in one of the highest crime cities in the country?!? Iā€™m shocked!

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IdealisticPundit t1_j5txt5i wrote

Better yet - imagine if we put this money towards education. We all know the inner city schools are underfunded. I'm not saying bad parenting isn't a huge problem, I'd just argue a lot of that stems from a lack of availability to a good education.

Maybe also clean up the streets and give people the means to keep their homes looking nice.

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MonkeyPanls t1_j5uetm6 wrote

More money for schools is great, but what about the other 16 hours of the day? After-school programs can provide a valuable bridge for kids who aren't getting good guidance at home. My circumstances weren't nearly as bad as many, but free after school programs and the public library definitely kept me out of trouble at a vulnerable time in my life.

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IdealisticPundit t1_j5wl53q wrote

I'd argue you're right and what we're saying is one and the same. I grew up in the burbs but the free after school programs were mostly through the school. Those are parts of successful education programs.

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MonkeyPanls t1_j5wltr5 wrote

But "the schools" is only part of it. In my town, we had neighborhood public library-, parks department-, and museums programs for pre-teen (10-12) and older. The public libraries were also just open as a place to hang out in the evenings and on the weekends.

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Desjardins99 t1_j5u464m wrote

I'm sure some of these programs mean well, but the outcomes have been absolutely abysmal. The fact so many ex cons are out here starting up new programs because "they can relate to the youth", c'mon. Obvious grifting going on

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LFKhael t1_j5u4jty wrote

This article is about a police captain and you're throwing around "ex cons."

Way to show you have nothing but malicious intent here.

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Desjardins99 t1_j5u521i wrote

I'm making a comment about the overall integrity of the program and I don't think it's effective at all so yea my intent is malicious šŸ¤·šŸ¾ā€ā™‚ļø.

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