Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania, 2008-2011

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The Philadelphia Police Department is the nation's fourth largest police department, with over 6,600 sworn members and 800 civilian personnel. The PPD is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for serving Philadelphia County, which extends over 140 square-miles and has approximately 1.5 million residents.

Salaries

According to the department website, Philadelphia police officers are paid on a bi-weekly basis. Starting salary for a recruit is $42,474 a year, with an increase to more than $45,000 after graduating from the academy.

Sunshine Review requested Philadelphia Police Department salaries from 2008 to 2011.

The information was gathered from county data after Sunshine Review filed a public records request. The PPD supplied the most current salary figures for the department.

There were 40 employees earning a salary of $100,000 or higher in the Philadelphia Police Department:

• The highest salary earned in the Philadelphia Police Department was $191,256 by Charles H. Ramsey, the Philadelphia police commissioner.
• The next highest salary in the PPD was that of the deputy police commissioner, who earned $143,388.
• There were an additional seven other subordinate deputy police commissioners who earned $137,146..57.
• There were 11 chief police inspectors in the PPD with a salary of $115,830.90.
• There were 20 police inspectors with a salary of $101,391.20.

Other salaries in the PPD included:

• There were 5,012 police officers with a salary of $56,869.06.
• There were 82 police captains with a salary of $89,103.13.
• There were 235 police lieutenants with a salary of $76,767.74.
• There were 534 police sergeants with a salary of $66,926.33.

Benefits

Police officers are offered a choice between BlueCross/ Blue Shield health coverage or Aetna US. These include dental, prescription, and vision coverage. Leave must be approved by an individual's commanding officer and the amount of vacation days are based on seniority.

Using a public records request Sunshine Review requested information on the financial cost of benefits provided by the Philadelphia Police Department from 2008 to 2011. However, the PPD declined to provide the information, saying the request lacked specificity.

Phone use

According to data provided by the Philadelphia Police Department following a public records request by Sunshine Review, there were 359 cell phones and 91 Blackberries in-service in year 2008. There were 246 cell phones and 212 Blackberries in-service in year 2009. There were 132 cell phones and 320 Blackberries in-service in year 2010. There were 80 cell phones and372 Blackberries in-service in year 2011. There was no department directive or policy regarding cell phones or Blackberries.

Information on the amount budgeted for cellular telephones and other mobile devices was not provided by the PPD.

Car use

According to data provided by the Philadelphia Police Department following a public records request by Sunshine Review, there were 515 unmarked department-issued vehicles in-service in year 2008. There were 474 unmarked department-issued vehicles in-service in 2009. There were 489 unmarked department-issued vehicles in-service in 2010. There were 486 unmarked department-issued vehicles in-service in 2011.

Information on amounts budgeted for vehicles and maintenance was not provided.

Retirement

Police officers contribute towards their own pension funds, which are fully vested after 10 years.

Salary records project

In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):

1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin

Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection method was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.

The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.

A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia said the city of Philadelphia faced challenges owing to the cost of public employee pensions. The report claimed the amount that Philadelphia paid to pension recipients limited the city’s ability to use its budget effectively.

The report said there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701. The authors recommended three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions: improved data collection, expanded transparency initiatives, and reductions to the city's overall budget.

Salary schedules can be published as ranges, not as specific compensation figures, and may leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aimed to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.

See also

• Pennsylvania local government salary: Law Enforcement
• Pennsylvania state government salary
• Pennsylvania
• Public employee salary

External links

• Philadelphia Police Department
• Philadelphia Police Department Officer Requirements - Criminal Justice Degrees
• Pennsylvania Police Officer Salaries, Salary.com
• City of Philadelphia Police Officer Salaries, Glassdoor.com
• Law Enforcement Preparation Center -- Police Officer Annual Salary
• State Budget Solutions -- Pennsylvania