| Philadelphia Police Department | |
| Abbreviation | PPD |
| Patch of the Philadelphia Police Department. | |
| Badge of the Philadelphia Police Department. | |
| Motto | Honor, Integrity, Service |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1751 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | City of Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania, United States |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | "The Roundhouse" nickname One Franklin Square Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Police Officers | 6,646 (8/2011) [1] |
| Agency executive | Charles H. Ramsey, Commissioner |
| Bureaus |
List
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| Districts |
List
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| Website | |
| Official Site | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest municipal police agency in the United States, and the sixth largest non-federal law enforcement agency in the country (behind the New York City Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol).
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The current Philadelphia Police Department employs more than 6,646 officers, and patrols an area of 369.4 km² (142.6 mi²) with a population of almost 1.5 million. The department is subdivided into twenty-one patrol districts, and like many other large municipal police forces, it incorporates many special units such as a K-9 squad, SWAT, community relations unit, and harbor patrol. The highest-ranking officer is Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, a former Chicago police officer and former Chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police.
The Philadelphia Police Department has several unique features which distinguish it from other municipal police agencies. One of these features is the department's Hero Scholarship Thrill Show, which is a 45-year-old program designed to provide funds for the college education of the children of PPD and Philadelphia Fire Department officers slain or disabled in the line of duty. Funds are raised through ticket sales for the Thrill Show, which features police and fire department demonstrations, exhibits, and games.
The Hero Thrill Show made its debut in 1954. Until January 2006, the Hero Thrill Show was produced by the Hero Scholarship Fund. Since 2006, The Hero Thrill Show has been produced by the Hero Thrill Show, Inc. There is no affiliation between the Hero Thrill Show, Inc. and the Hero Scholarship Fund.
On January 20, 2006 the President of the Hero Scholarship Fund announced that "After carefully comparing revenues over the past several years, including decreases as well as the expense and difficulty in putting on the show, it has been decided to discontinue the show...." * In April, 2006, James J. Binns, a Philadelphia Lawyer, founded the Hero Thrill Show Inc., which assumed production of the Hero Thrill Show and the administration of funds generated by the Hero Thrill Show. The Board of Directors is chaired by Mr. Binns and is composed of the Police Commissioner, Fire Commissioner, President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge Number 5, President of the International Association of Firefighters, Local 22 and a number of Philadelphia business leaders.
The beginnings of the mounted unit can be traced to the Fairmount Park Mounted Guard created in 1867. In 1889 the Philadelphia Police Mounted Patrol Unit was established. The Philadelphia Police unit survived until 1952, however, the Fairmount Park unit would be used for parades and crowd control measures. The Fairmount Park Mounted Guard became the Fairmount Park Police in 1966, but maintained the same responsibilities. In 1972, Mayor Frank Rizzo found it unnecessary for taxpayers to fund two separate police departments, and merged the Fairmount Park Police into the Philadelphia Police, creating the Park Division. The mounted unit was once again used to patrol the streets of Philadelphia. The mounted unit survived to celebrate 100 years in 1989, but was disbanded in 2004 due to budgetary cuts by Mayor John F. Street's administration[2]. On July 18, 2008, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey confirmed that plans are in the works to recreate the mounted unit[3]. The Philadelphia Inquirer again reported on June 2, 2009 that Ramsey hoped to revive the unit once the city was in a better financial standing[4]. The continued recreation of the Mounted Unit took an additional step forward on October 31, 2011 when the City of Philadelphia announced plans to build a new facility for the Unit in Fairmount Park.[5].
| Title | Insignia | Uniform Shirt Color | Type of Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police Commissioner |
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Appointed by the city's managing director with the approval of the mayor | |
| Deputy Police Commissioner 3-star |
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Appointed by the city's managing director with the approval of the mayor | |
| Deputy Police Commissioner 2-Star |
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Appointed by the city's managing director with the approval of the mayor | |
| Deputy Police Commissioner 1-Star |
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Appointed by the city's managing director with the approval of the mayor | |
| Chief Inspector |
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Civil service rank | |
| Inspector |
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Civil service rank | |
| Staff Inspector |
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Civil service rank | |
| Captain |
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Civil service rank | |
| Lieutenant |
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Civil service rank | |
| Sergeant |
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Civil service rank | |
| Corporal/Detective |
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Civil service rank | |
| Police Officer |
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Civil service rank | |
| Police Officer Recruit |
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The ranks of corporal and detective have the same pay grade, but have different functions. Corporals are "operations supervisors" and are responsible for overseeing a patrol district's operations room, or a special unit's operations; i.e., that reports are submitted accurately and in a timely manner, etc. Only rarely do corporals work the street.
Detectives no longer come under the Detective Bureau, but are still primarily assigned to Divisional Detective Units, and specialized units like Homicide, Organized Crime/Intelligence, and Background Investigation. The detective divisions now fall under whichever ROC (Regional Operations Command) they reside in except the special units aforementioned. The City of Philadelphia is now broken down into Regional Operations Command North and South. The commanding officer of a detective bureau reports directly to the divisional inspector who reports to the ROC who is a deputy police commissioner.
Detectives are not considered supervisory personnel, they are a civil service rank of their own and take orders from a corporal the same as a patrol officer. There are also Police Officers who serve in an investigative capacity, such as in the Juvenile Aid and Special Victims Units. They are paid in the same pay scale as a Police Officer assigned to Patrol.
Unlike most law enforcement agencies (but similar to the LAPD), the Philadelphia Police Department Detective Bureau does not maintain the ranks of Detective Sergeant and/or Detective Lieutenant, etc. Also, unlike other departments such as NYPD and LAPD, Philadelphia Police Detectives do not have a uniform that can be worn during details or funerals. The prescribed attire of a Philadelphia Police Detective is proper business attire. In the Philadelphia Police Department, the rank of detective can only be made by a civil service exam and there are no grade differentiations. This is contrast to NYPD who have the ability to make field promotions to detective for an outstanding performance or circumstance.
In 1881, the Philadelphia Police Department hired its first African-American police officer.
In 1887, the police department was put under control of the city's Department of Public Safety. Two years later, the PPD inaugurated its mounted patrol (which was disbanded in 2004).
In 1906, the motorcycle was introduced to the Philadelphia police.
In 1939, radio-installed patrol cars were put into use.
In 1964, a race riot breaks out in North Philadelphia calling every police officer in the city to duty.[7]
In 1967, Frank Rizzo becomes police commissioner of Philadelphia. Also, in 1967 Rizzo came under fire for his handling of the 1967 Philadelphia Student Demonstrations.
In 1970, a well publicized raid of the Black Panther Party occurs.[8][9][10]
In 1979, the department reached its peak size at approximately 8,500 officers.
In 1981, Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot while performing a traffic stop. Former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal (né Wesley Cook), was convicted of Officer Faulkner's murder. The incident, subsequent trial and conviction of Jamal remains a topic of controversy in the United States and around the world.
In 1985, the Philadelphia Police dropped a mixture of civilian and military explosives on a "home-made" wood bunker, built on the roof of the Osage Avenue house occupied by members of the MOVE organization. The bomb ignited several barrels of gasoline starting a fire which destroyed the entire block, leaving 250 people homeless, and killed eleven people.
In 1987, the Philadelphia Police Department arrested Gary Heidnik, serial murderer who kidnapped, tortured and raped six women and kept them prisoner in his Philadelphia, Pennsylvania basement.
In the early 1990s, a corruption scandal centered around officers in the department's 39th district in North Philadelphia led to the prosecutions of six officers, and attracted nationwide attention.
In 2001, Ira Samuel Einhorn, a.k.a. "The Unicorn Killer" (born May 15, 1940), is a former American activist of the 1960s and 1970s was extradited back to Philadelphia to stand trial for 1977 murder of Holly Maddux. Philadelphia Police Department investigated the Maddux homicide and charged Einhorn with first degree murder. Einhorn in 1981 fled to Europe to avoid his trial.
In 2010, officer Robert Ralston, a 21 year veteran of the PPD shot himself in the shoulder at 4:00 AM on April the 5th and claimed that he had been shot by one of two African Americans who he claimed had fled the scene[11]. His statements resulted in a massive manhunt including SWAT personnel. After being confronted with evidence showing that he had shot himself and was offered immunity he confirmed that the wound was self inflicted. As of June 2010 Ralston had been fired after being placed on paid leave following the admission [12].
In June 2011 Officer Howard Lomax became the 27th Philadelphia Police officer arrested in the last two years.
In just over a year spanning from October 2007 to February 2009, six Philadelphia Police officers were killed in the line of duty while pursuing suspects in various crimes. Those lost were Officer Charles Cassidy, Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, Officer Isabel Nazario, Officer Patrick McDonald, who was posthumously promoted to Sergeant, Sergeant Timothy Simpson, and Officer John Pawlowski.
The PPD is also featured in "The Mickey Devlin Novels" by Inspector Michael Patrick Cooney (Ret)
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