Perzel: Hire more
cops to fight crime

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

When state Rep. John Perzel was trying to find an answer to Philadelphia’s violent crime problem, he looked to New York City.
The Big Apple has been beefing up the ranks of its police department since the mid-1990s. As recently as 1990, there were an incredible 2,262 murders in the city. Last year, there were a relatively paltry 494.
"If it worked in New York, I don’t know why it wouldn’t work in Philly," Perzel said of crime-fighting efforts.
Last week, Perzel (R-172nd dist.) held a news conference in Harrisburg to rally support for the Commonwealth Officers Act — his legislation that would provide funding for communities throughout Pennsylvania to hire up to 10,000 new police officers by 2011.
While Philadelphia has the state’s biggest crime problem, Perzel needs to include all areas of the state in his legislation if he hopes the measure passes.
In addition, he argues that while most areas of the state don’t have a murder problem, they could still use a greater police presence to address other crimes.
"There’s not a place in Pennsylvania that isn’t experiencing a problem with increased crime," he said.
In 2006, when Perzel was speaker, a similar bill passed the House of Represen-tatives before dying in the Senate.
"We passed it in ’06, and I’m sure we can do it in ’08," he said.
The problem for Perzel is that Republicans lost the majority after the 2006 elections, and he tumbled from speaker to rank-and-file member. He’s seeking a 16th two-year term and will face the winner of the Democratic primary between Tim Kearney and Rich Costello, former president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5.
Gov. Ed Rendell, a former Philadelphia district attorney and mayor, has never liked the proposal, saying it is too costly.
Nonetheless, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1189 last October.
Next, it headed to the Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Dwight Evans (D-203rd dist.), who has been unwilling to call for a vote on the bill because he doesn’t like the language.
Perzel joined fellow legislators, Fraternal Order of Police officials and district attorneys on Jan. 16 to urge action. He believes the Appropriations Committee would approve the bill if it comes to a vote.
Under the act, the state and each local municipality would contribute 50 percent of the cost for the new officers. The program would be administered through the state attorney general’s office. Philadelphia would get to hire more than 1,300 officers.
Municipalities can use up to 50 percent of the state commitment for recruiting, training, equipment or other costs.
The cost of the program would be paid for by reducing the administrative budgets of the legislative and executive branches.
After the news conference, Evans said the bill "unfairly helps rural towns," prompting Perzel to send Rendell a letter asking that he urge Democratic lawmakers to allow a vote on the measure.
Perzel noted that if Rendell can approve $50 million to lure a professional soccer team to Chester, he should not have a problem with the $56 million it will cost to add 10,000 police officers over four years. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com