Metro Philadelphia: “Nearly 13% of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s proposed operating budget is set aside for police, more than any other municipal department.

Her plan allocates $872 million to the Philadelphia Police Department, about $20 million more than what the city expects to spend on policing in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Once upon a time, that would have garnered pushback. In 2020, following the massive protests in response to the killing of George Floyd, then Mayor Jim Kenney scrapped a proposed PPD funding boost due to opposition from City Council.

Calls to “defund the police” or to redirect money to other city services waned as Philadelphia experienced a dramatic rise in homicides and shootings. Even now, with a significant drop in gun violence and most other categories of crime, lawmakers do not seem interested in reducing or leveling the PPD’s budget.

While some progressive organizations, including the Abolitionist Law Center and Reclaim Philadelphia, are still pushing for a move away from law enforcement, Council members spent more time applauding the police’s recent efforts than questioning their rising allocation during a budget hearing Tuesday.”

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