In 2017, Larry Krasner, a public defender and civil rights lawyer who had sued the Philadelphia police department multiple times during his career, made an unusual decision: he decided to run for Philadelphia District Attorney, the city’s top prosecutor, a powerful role in the criminal justice system. His goal was to reform that system––from the inside.

Since taking office, Krasner has made efforts to stop the cycle of mass incarceration for low-level crimes while contending with a powerful police union and judges resistant to change. Krasner says the city is still in the shadow of Frank Rizzo, Philadelphia’s former Police Commissioner and Mayor who was notorious for being “tough on crime.”

Now Philadelphia, along with several other major U.S. cities, is facing a spike in violent crime and opioid use, on top of the pandemic. Some Philadelphians say Krasner should be doing more to keep the streets safe, others say his office is not doing enough to change the system. On this episode of Into America, Trymaine Lee talks to District Attorney Larry Krasner about whether his reform agenda can survive. https://link.chtbl.com/obvkRMCh?sid=ep42» Subscribe to NBC News: http://nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC
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Into the Philadelphia D.A’s Office | Into America Podcast – Ep. 42 | NBC News and MSNBC