Even with more than 400 officer vacancies, the Philadelphia Police Department is slated to receive just $10,700 to spend on recruitment for the next fiscal year.
During a budget hearing Tuesday, some, including City Council President Darrell Clarke, seemed stunned the department was not investing more in addressing its staffing issues, which Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw called a “crisis.”
PPD administrators said they requested $125,000 for recruitment, but Mayor Jim Kenney did not include the expenditure in his proposed budget.
Though the department is budgeted for 6,380 officers, there are 438 spots unfilled and 13% of the force is out on injured leave — many taking advantage of the so-called Heart and Lung benefit, a program a recent Inquirer report found to be, at times, egregiously abused.
