WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Police Department employs more than 6600 sworn members and 800 civilian employees; and
WHEREAS, The Police Department has 22 Police Districts and operates 55 physical locations throughout the City; and
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fire Department employs more than 2,300 sworn members and civilian employees; and
WHEREAS, The Fire Department has 63 Fire Stations throughout the City with 50 containing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) units; and
WHEREAS, Many of the Police and Fire facilities are more than 50 years old and were constructed to house a lower number of sworn members and civilian employees; and
WHEREAS, Many of the Police facilities lack the infrastructure to utilize modern technology that is used in the process of effectively fighting and solving crime; and
WHEREAS, The equipment, including vehicles, computers, communication devices and other essential items may be outdated; and
WHEREAS, The functional capacity, location, design and number of Police and Fire facilities need to be investigated to properly serve the changing demographics of the City going forward; and
WHEREAS, The state of the facilities and equipment can have a negative impact on the morale and ability of Police Officers, Fire Fighters and civilian employees whose job it is to serve and protect the residents of Philadelphia; therefore,
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby authorizes Council's Committees on Public Safety and Public Property and Public Works to investigate and hold hearings on the current state of the effectiveness of facilities and equipment used by the Philadelphia Police Department and Philadelphia Fire Department along with the design, location, funding and timetable for new facilities and equipment.
End