Philadelphia Police Shortage Developing into Very Real Concern

In Philadelphia, police are having trouble finding new recruits to join the force, even as officials say the department is severely understaffed.

FOP Lodge #5 President John McNesby says it’s kind of like a perfect storm developing.

The eye of the storm revolves around several issues including a dramatic rise in the number of Philadelphia police officers filing for retirement, a diminishing pool of young people who even want to be a big city cop, and the suspension of new officer training because of the pandemic.

Under normal circumstances, there would be dozens of new recruits coming in for training every three months.

Now though, the most recent class graduated last December, and the next one isn’t expected to begin until next month.

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Then, you throw in the recent changes to the department’s residency rules mandating all police trainees live in Philadelphia before they enter the academy.

“Nobody is going to move to Philadelphia hoping that they get a job. {snip}” he said.

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