Perzel takes another
shot at hiring more cops

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Since state Rep. John Perzel introduced a bill last fall to fund the hiring of more police officers, Philadelphia’s murder rate has increased by 26 percent.
"It’s alarming," he said.
Last week, Perzel (R-172nd dist.) announced during a news conference at his district office in Mayfair that he was re-introducing the measure, which passed the House of Representatives last year during the much-ballyhooed Committee of the Whole on Crime before dying in the Senate.
The bill passed at a time when Perzel was speaker of the House, but now it faces several obstacles.
Now, Democrats are in the majority and control all of the committees. The speaker is Rep. Dennis O’Brien, a Republican and longtime Perzel foe. Also, Gov. Ed Rendell has indicated that the proposal is too costly.
Still, Perzel senses momentum for the legislation, at least from the Philadelphia delegation, pointing out that all of the major mayoral candidates want to hire more police officers. He even cited a decision by Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson to patrol the streets along with other commanders.
"It’s everybody singing from the same hymnal," he said.
Perzel noted that Philadelphia needs more police officers because attrition is outpacing the number of recruits in the Police Academy. He earlier backed a plan that has Pennsylvania State Police troopers patrolling state highways, freeing up more city police officers to focus on crime.
The lawmaker acknowledges that the proposal is costly, considering an officer’s recruiting, training, salary, equipment and health and pension costs.
At the same time, he believes the initiative is worth the cost. The state would pay $225 million to hire 10,000 more police officers by 2011.
Of that total, 1,345 officers would join the Philadelphia Police Department in the next four years.
Rep. George Kenney (R-170th dist.), who joined Perzel at the announcement, likes the idea because he thinks an added police presence would lead to more arrests of individuals wanted on bench warrants.
"We need to get back to community policing," he said.
Rep. John Taylor (R-177th dist.), who is co-sponsoring the legislation with Kenney, argues that the police are needed to arrest convicted felons who illegally possess a weapon before they kill someone.
Taylor said it’s not all about murders. He hears complaints from residents at community meetings that they want additional police officers to address quality-of-life crimes and cut down on 911 response time.
"The number-one issue is more police on the streets," he said.
Taylor described the state as a "partner" with counties and municipalities in the venture, which will be administered by the attorney general’s office.
Counties would match 30 percent of the state’s commitment, with municipalities chipping in 20 percent. Philadelphia, which is a city and county, would pay 50 percent, or about $30.3 million.
Funding would be allocated based on a formula that uses a county’s existing number of officers, crime rate and population.
Funds to cover the allocation will come from reductions in the administrative budgets of both the legislative and executive branches. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com