PHILADELPHIA, April 7, 2022 – Today, the Kenney administration announced that the residency requirement, which requires that the City only hire people who live in Philadelphia for at least the previous year, has been lifted for police and correctional officers. The two-year-old measure, offered as a vehicle to help drive diversity within the City’s police force, has been a hindrance in addressing critical staffing shortages within both the Philadelphia Police and Prisons Departments.
Last week, Councilmember Derek Green (At-Large) introduced his ‘Public Safety Agenda,’ which included ordinances creating a program of signing bonuses for new cadets to incentivize recruitment, as well as making necessary changes to the residency requirement. Councilmember Green issued the following statement:
“While I appreciate Mayor Kenney’s attention to the residency issue, officers’ starting salaries are below the national average and this pay gap is the other major reason, according to Commissioner Outlaw, that we are having difficulty hiring new officers. That’s why I hope Mayor Kenney supports and implements my signing bonus bill.”
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