He said research shows lower police staffing is linked to increases in both violent and property crime. Today, about 580 police officers report being too injured to work, and another 110 are on "limited duty."Īaron Chalfin, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, said shortages have a real effect on crime. Eighty-seven officers have already resigned this year, meaning the department is on track for more resignations than 2021.Ītop it all, injury claims are keeping hundreds of paid officers out of work - a trend driven, in part, by some exploiting disability programs. While resignations across the municipal government as a whole slowed this year, the same cannot be said for the Police Department. And resignations similarly surged last year: According to the department, 128 officers quit in 2021, more than twice the year prior. In addition to those retiring, some officers will inevitably quit. In all, the department is likely to see more than double the 100 annual retirements averaged before the pandemic. The full number of department retirees in the coming years will likely be even higher, because not all Police Department retirees enroll in DROP - over the past three years, more than a third did not. While uniformed police and civilian staff account for about a quarter of the city workforce, they make up more than 40% of the workers enrolled in DROP. They also make up a disproportionate amount of expected retirees, according to city employment records.Īs of July, 809 Police Department employees were enrolled in the city's Deferred Retirement Option Plan, known as DROP. While agencies across city government have buckled under persistent short-staffing over the last year, police in Philadelphia are leaving more quickly than other municipal workers. "I can't force people to become police officers." A department hemorrhaging cops "It's been very difficult across the country to have people wanting to get into policing and law enforcement," Mayor Jim Kenney said during a recent news conference. Police departments across the country have faced severe challenges recruiting officers, with some offering massive signing bonuses or retention pay. They emphasize that the problem isn't unique to Philadelphia. Officials admit recruitment has faltered, blaming both the city's uniquely stringent hiring requirements and a nationwide shortage that has made the market for recruits more competitive. Some officers were redeployed to boost patrol strength. Police response times have slowed since 2020. Ranks have dwindled in almost every unit, and the effects are noticeable. Outlaw has said for months that morale among officers is low, which she has attributed in part to politics and increased scrutiny. The officer exodus coincided with both a political shift around policing and a broader trend of municipal workers leaving their jobs in droves. "We will never, ever be able to truly quantify how much violence would never occur," she said, "if prospective offenders see police in the area before they act." Outlaw said adequate staffing allows police to have a more "visible presence." Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw invoked the staffing crisis following a West Philadelphia shooting that on Tuesday night left five young men wounded and 100 shell casings outside a recreation center. Last year, there were 562 homicides, the most in recorded history - and so far this year, the pace has not slowed. The growing officer shortage within one of the nation's largest police forces is colliding with the highest rates of gun violence Philadelphia has seen in generations. All told, the force is already some 1,300 officers short of its full complement of 6,380. The wave of impending retirements comes atop nearly 600 existing officer vacancies, soaring resignations, and hundreds of injury claims that have taken more cops off active duty. But this year, just 120 cadets will be eligible to graduate from the police academy. The force is virtually guaranteed to see about 200 retirements for each of the next four years. The figures mean officers are leaving faster than the department can recruit them. Fresh pension records analyzed by The Inquirer show the number of Police Department enrollees doubled in four years. The decades-old program helps officials prepare for the departure of longtime employees by allowing city workers to begin collecting on pension benefits four years before they retire. Philly PD is virtually guaranteed to see about 200 retirements for each of the next four years.
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