25 Apr 2021
The Philadelphia Police Department is dealing with a police shortage as they struggle to attract and retain police officers.
The city’s police department, like other departments nationwide, is in “crisis” mode for recruiting as officers retire from their jobs. The situation is made worse by the national debate over police reform and the use of force, as well as the pandemic.
“It’s the perfect storm. We are anticipating that the department is going to be understaffed by several hundred members, because hundreds of guys are either retiring or taking other jobs and leaving the department,” Mike Neilon, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #5, told the
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Police departments in Philadelphia are struggling to make ends meet when it comes to staffing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday.
Since the beginning of the year, 79 Philadelphia police officers have been accepted into the Deferred Retirement Option program, which means that they intend to retire in the next four years, according to The Philidelphia Inquirer. During the same time period last year, 13 officers had enrolled in the program.
“It’s the perfect storm. We are anticipating that the department is going to be understaffed by several hundred members because hundreds of guys are either retiring or taking other jobs and leaving the department,” said Mike Neilon, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police.
AP
People walk by the Pennsylvania Judicial Center Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will review questions related to the state’s use of force statute ahead of the homicide trial of former Philadelphia police officer Ryan Pownall. Pownall fatally shot 30-year-old David Jones during a traffic stop in 2017.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a pre-trial appeal that, if successful, could change how the jury interprets Pennsylvania’s use of force law. The statute offers police officers wide latitude to employ deadly force, something Krasner argues is unconstitutional.
“The people deserve a consistent and fair standard for when violence may be used against them by the state, in a manner that complies with our constitutions,” Krasner told WESA’s
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