Charles Ramsey, the police commissioner, has stated his goal to reduce the number of homicides by 100 per year. The legal entities responsible for maintaining law and order are: * The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is the police department. * The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (1st Judicial Circuit) is the state trial court. * The Philadelphia District Attorney is the district attorney. * The Defender Association of Philadelphia is the government-funded independent public defender office.