The Philadelphia Police Department remains short more than 1,000 officers and is expected to lose hundreds more to retirement in the next four years with recruitment unable to keep pace, according to a recent piece by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The city's department currently operates at 20% below its target staffing levels, and more than 800 police and city employees are expected to retire within the next four years, The Inquirer found. Numbers obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer from the city's deferred pension program indicate a loss of about 200 officers each year for the next four years with only 120 cadets eligible to graduate from the police academy this year. Existing officer vacancies, resignations and injury claims are additional reasons for the city's dwindling police force.
A quick perusal through the Philly police department's Facebook page reveals just why a police shortage is a significant problem for the city. Post after post show pictures of individuals wanted for robberies, homicides, shootings, carjackings, hit and run, arson and more. Crime stats show the City of Brotherly Love set an all-time high for homicides last year with 562 deaths. A total of 352 homicides have taken place so far this year, suggesting last year's numbers could be matched or even exceeded by year's end. (RELATED: Multiple Dems, Including US Congresswoman, Carjacked. Will Party Finally Disavow Defund Police Wing?)
Cities beyond Philadelphia are seeing a surge in violent crimes. Data analyzed by Fox News Digital showed a 30% increase in murders between 2019 and 2020 and a 5% increase in 2021 from the year before. Some blamed the pandemic for the rise in crime, while still others cited Black Lives Matter and its activism for defunding police, Fox News said. In an interview with Fox News, former DHS deputy assistant secretary Jonathan Fahey says crime has not risen as a result of decreased police funding, but because of the anti-police movement within the Democratic Party. (RELATED: Violent Crime Spike Linked to Defund Police Movement)
The felt impact of violence against officers is not lost, even on FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Violence against law enforcement in this country is one of the biggest phenomena that I think doesn't get enough attention. Last year, officers were being killed at a rate of almost 1 in every 5 days. Wearing a badge shouldn't make you a target,” Wray said. By the end of July, more than 200 officers had been killed in 2022, according to the Fraternal Order of Police. Of those, 46 were killed in ambush-style attacks. (RELATED: Trump Responds to Threats Against Federal Law Enforcement)
Rampant anti-police sentiment is just one spoke in the wheel of violent crime spikes, however. The Fraternal Order of Police's Joe Gamaldi cited “woke politicians” and their policies, according to a recent Fox News interview. A criminal justice system that empowers district attorneys to let violent criminals out on bail to perpetrate more crime only serves to further plague communities and the law enforcement officers that serve them. Violence continues to surge. Police shortages in Philadelphia and elsewhere worsen. And a cycle perpetuates.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Vigilante time, Death Wish for Philly
How many of these mini-democracies preaching ‘death-to-the police’ are led by minless demagogues who have since had to eat crow and come back begging to the police? But then any officers with a brain decline? Many have moved on to other states with rational policies.