WHEREAS, Illegally parked vehicles in neighborhoods are an issue of concern for residents across the City of Philadelphia, specifically vehicles that are abandoned by individuals or stored on the street by mechanic and autobody shops; and
WHEREAS, These abandoned vehicles take away valuable parking spaces from residents and contribute to blight in our neighborhoods that can potentially lead to increased violence; and
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Police Department Neighborhood Services Unit (NSU) is tasked with addressing various issues affecting residents’ quality of life, which include but are not limited to, removal of abandoned vehicles from residential blocks, vandalism, loitering, and short dumping; and
WHEREAS, Residents can report abandoned vehicles to Philly 311, and the NSU will be deployed to determine if the vehicle is abandoned and have it removed; and
WHEREAS, In 2021, Philly 311 received 34,033 inquiries about abandoned vehicles; and
WHEREAS, Removal of abandoned vehicles can take up to 60 days or longer, depending on the severity of the issue, the type of vehicle being removed, the availability of salvors, and the required participation of multiple city agencies to create conditions suitable for removal; and
WHEREAS, NSU officers are not assigned to every police district, leaving only a few officers to respond to citywide abandoned vehicle inquiries, contributing to the length of time it takes to have an abandoned vehicle removed; and
WHEREAS, NSU officers are often re-deployed to areas experiencing more serious crimes, leaving police districts unable to investigate potentially abandoned vehicles and schedule removal, creating a backlog; and
WHEREAS, a staffing increase police district’s Neighborhood Services Unit is necessary to address the backlog of abandoned vehicles in need of removal across the City, and to keep up with future demand for removal of abandoned vehicles; and
WHEREAS, City agencies must collaborate to create effective enforcement practices, prevention strategies; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby authorizes the City of Philadelphia Council Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings to explore the role of the Philadelphia Police Department Neighborhood Services Unit as a part of the City’s comprehensive response to the widespread prevalence of abandoned vehicles in the City of Philadelphia, and to examine enforcement practices, preventative measures and potential solutions necessary to address this problem.
End