Philadelphia Police Department

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Philadelphia Police Department
Abbreviation	PPD
Patch of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Motto	Honor, Integrity, Service
Agency overview
Formed	1751
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	City of Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania, United States
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	"The Roundhouse" nickname One Franklin Square Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Police Officers	6,600 (11/2007)
Agency executive	Charles H. Ramsey, Commissioner
Bureaus	List Special Operations Patrol Narcotics Detective Training Administration Staff Services Internal Affairs
Districts	List 1st District 2nd District 3rd District 4th District 5th District 6th District 7th District 8th District 9th District 12th District 14th District 15th District 16th District 17th District 18th District 19th District 22nd District 23rd District 24th District 25th District 26th District 35th District 39th District 77th District 92nd District
Website
Official Site
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest municipal police agency in the United States, and the fourth largest municipal law enforcement agency in the country (behind the NYPD, Chicago Police Department, and LAPD).

[edit] Notable events in history

In 1881, the Philadelphia Police Department hired its first African-American police officer.

In 1887, the police department was put under control of the city's Department of Public Safety. Two years later, the PPD inaugurated its mounted patrol (which was recently disbanded in 2004).

In 1906, the motorcycle was introduced to the Philadelphia police.

In 1939, radio-installed patrol cars were put into use.

In 1964, a race riot breaks out in North Philadelphia calling every police officer in the city to duty.^[1]

In 1967, Frank Rizzo becomes police commissioner of Philadelphia.

In 1970, a well publicized raid of the Black Panther Party occurs.^[2][3][4]

In 1979, the PPD reached its peak size at approximately 8,500 officers.

In 1981, Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot while arresting a motorist. Former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal (né Wesley Cook), was charged with Officer Faulkner's murder. The incident, subsequent trial and conviction of Jamal remains a topic of controversy in the United States and around the world.

In 1985, the Philadelphia Police dropped a mixture of civilian and military explosives on a "home-made" wood bunker, built on the roof of the Osage Avenue house occupied by members of the MOVE organization. The bomb ignited several barrels of gasoline starting a fire which destroyed the entire block, leaving 250 people homeless, and killed eleven people.

In 1987, the Philadelphia Police Department arrested Gary Heidnik, serial murderer who kidnapped, tortured and raped six women and kept them prisoner in his Philadelphia, Pennsylvania basement.

In the early 1990s, a corruption scandal centered around officers in the department's 39th district in North Philadelphia led to the prosecutions of 6 officers, and attracted nationwide attention.

In 2001, Ira Samuel Einhorn, a.k.a. "The Unicorn Killer" (born May 15, 1940), is a former American activist of the 1960s and 1970s was extradited back to Philadelphia to stand trial for 1977 murder of Holly Maddux. Philadelphia Police Department investigated the Maddux homicide and charged Einhorn with first degree murder. Einhorn in 1981 fled to Europe to avoid his trial.

In just over a year spanning from October 2007 to February 2009, six Philadelphia Police officers were killed in the line of duty during various crimes. Those lost were Officer Charles Cassidy, Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, Officer Isabel Nazario, Officer Patrick McDonald, who was posthumously promoted to Sergeant, Sergeant Timothy Simpson, and Officer John Pawlowski.

[edit] Present-day Philadelphia Police Department

"The Roundhouse", Philadelphia Police Department Headquarters

The current Philadelphia Police Department employs more than 6,600 officers, and patrols an area of 369.4 km² (142.6 mi²) with a population of almost 1.5 million. The department is subdivided into twenty-three patrol districts, and like many other large municipal police forces, it incorporates many special units such as a K-9 squad, SWAT, community relations unit, and harbor patrol. The highest-ranking officer, the Commissioner, is Charles H. Ramsey, a former Chicago police officer and former Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

[edit] Special aspects of the Philadelphia Police Department

A Philadelphia Police Department police car

The Philadelphia Police Department has several unique features which distinguish it from other municipal police agencies. One of these features is the department's Hero Scholarship Thrill Show, which is a 45-year-old program designed to provide funds for the college education of the children of PPD and Philadelphia Fire Department officers slain or disabled in the line of duty. Funds are raised through ticket sales for the Thrill Show, which features police and fire department demonstrations, exhibits, and games.

[edit] Mounted Unit

The beginnings of the Mounted Unit can be traced to the Fairmount Park Mounted Guard created in 1867. In 1889 the Philadelphia Police Mounted Patrol Unit was established. The Philadelphia Police unit survived until 1952, however, the Fairmount Park unit would be used for parades and crowd control measures. The Fairmount Park Mounted Guard became the Fairmount Park Police in 1966, but maintained the same responsibilities. In 1972, Mayor Frank Rizzo found it unnecessary for taxpayers to fund two separate police departments, and merged the Fairmount Park Police into the Philadelphia Police, creating the Park Division. The mounted unit was once again used to patrol the streets of Philadelphia. The mounted unit survived to celebrate 100 years in 1989, but was disbanded in 2004 due to budgetary cuts by Mayor John F. Street's administration^[5]. On July 18, 2008, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey confirmed that plans are in the works to recreate the mounted unit^[6]. The Philadelphia Inquirer again reported on June 2, 2009 that Ramsey hoped to revive the unit once the city was in a better financial standing^[7].

[edit] Ranks within the department

Title	Insignia	Uniform Shirt Color	Type of Rank
Police Commissioner		White	Appointed by the city's managing director with the approval of the mayor
Deputy Police Commissioner 3-star		White	Appointed by the city's managing director with the approval of the mayor
Deputy Police Commissioner 2-Star		White	Civil service rank
Deputy Police Commissioner 1-Star		White	Civil service rank
Chief Inspector		White	Civil service rank
Inspector		White	Civil service rank
Staff Inspector		White	Civil service rank
Captain		White	Civil service rank
Lieutenant		White	Civil service rank
Sergeant		White	Civil service rank
Corporal/Detective		Blue	Civil service rank
Police Officer		Blue	Civil service rank
Police Officer Recruit		Blue

The ranks of corporal and detective have the same pay grade, but have two entirely different functions. Corporals are "Operations Supervisors" and are responsible for overseeing a Patrol District's Operations Room, or a Special Unit's Operations; i.e., that reports are submitted accurately and in a timely manner, etc. Only in a few rare instances do Corporals work the street.

Detectives no longer come under the Detective Bureau, but are still primarily assigned to Divisional Detective Units, and specialized units like Homicide, Organized Crime/Intelligence, and Background Investigation. The detective divisions now fall under whichever ROC [Regional Operations Command] they reside in except the special units aforementioned. The City of Philadelphia is now broken down into Regional Operations Command North and South. The Commanding Officer of a detective Bureau reports directly to the Divisional Inspector who reports to the ROC who is a Deputy Police Commissioner.

Detectives are not considered supervisory personnel, they are a civil service rank of their own and take orders from a corporal the same as a patrol officer. There are also Police Officers who serve in an investigative capacity, such as in the Juvenile Aid and Special Victims Units. They are paid in the same pay scale as a Police Officer assigned to Patrol.

Unlike most law enforcement agencies (but similar to the LAPD [Los Angeles Police Department]), the Philadelphia Police Department Detective Bureau does not maintain the ranks of Detective Sergeant, Detective Lieutenant, etc. Also, unlike other departments such as NYPD and LAPD, Philadelphia Police Detectives do not have a uniform that can be worn during details or funerals. The prescribed attire of a Philadelphia Police Detective is proper business attire. In the Philadelphia Police Department, the rank of detective can only be made by a civil service exam and there are no grade differentiations. This is contrast to NYPD who have the ability to make field promotions to detective for an outstanding performance or circumstance.

[edit] Highest-ranking officials

Philadelphia police traffic officers with their patrol car

[edit] Police Marshals

• John J. Keyser, 1850 - 1853
• John K. Murphy, 1853 - 1855

[edit] Chiefs of Police

• Samuel G. Ruggles, 1855 - 1867
• St. Clair A. Mulhalland, 1867 - 1872
• Kennard Jones, 1872 - 1879
• Samuel L. Given, 1879 - 1884
• James Stewart, 1884 - 1887
• James Lamon, 1887 - 1892

[edit] Superintendents of Police

• Robert Linden, 1892 - 1899
• Harry M. Quick, 1899 - 1904
• John B. Taylor, 1904 - 1912
• James Robinson, 1912 - 1920
• William B. Mills, 1920 - 1931
• Joseph E. Lestrange, 1931 - 1936
• James H. Malone, 1936 - 1937
• Edward Hubbs, 1937 - 1940
• Howard P. Sutton, 1950 - 1952

[edit] Police Commissioners

• Thomas J. Gibbons, 1952 - 1960
• Albert N. Brown, 1960-1962
• Howard Leary, 1962 - 1965
• Edward J. Bell, 1966 - 1967
• Frank L. Rizzo, 1967 - 1971 (first Italian American commissioner, later Mayor of Philadelphia)
• Joseph F.O'Neill, 1971 - 1980
• Morton B. Solomon, 1980 - 1984
• Gregore J. Sambor, 1984 - 1985
• Kevin M. Tucker, 1985 - 1988
• Willie L. Williams, 1988 - 1992 (first African American commissioner, later chief of the LAPD)
• Richard Neal, 1992 - 1998
• John Timoney, 1998 - 2002 (currently chief of City of Miami Police Department)
• Sylvester Johnson, 2002 - 2008
• Charles H. Ramsey 2008 - Present

[edit] Demographics

• Male: 70%
• Female: 30%

• White: 55.6%
• African-American/Black: 36.4%
• Hispanic: 6.5%
• Other: 1.5%

^[8]

[edit] Wall of Honor

The City of Philadelphia honors those men and women who have died while serving in the line of duty. The memorial plaque is located in the courtyard of Philadelphia City Hall. It resided on the southeast corner of where Broad and Market Street would meet if they continued through the building.

Prior to 1972, the Fairmount Park Police Department (FPPD) functioned as a separate unit within the City of Philadelphia. Members of the FPPD who fell in the line of duty are included in the below list with the letters "FPPD" after their name)

Unless otherwise noted, the rank of those below is Police Officer.

[edit] Popular culture

• The Philadelphia Police Department is featured in the 1978 zombie film Dawn of the Dead in which the PPD S.W.A.T. team clears out a tenement building which was harboring the undead.
• The 1983 comedy Trading Places, Dan Aykroyd's character is detained and questioned by members of the PPD.
• The 1985 thriller Witness features Harrison Ford's character as a detective in the PPD who is hunted by corrupt members of the department.
• The PPD's Recruit Training Academy was featured in an episode of Da Ali G Show in which Ali G participates in several police training exercises.
• The police/drama series Cold Case involves detectives of the Philadelphia Police Department.
• The 1990 action/comedy Downtown featuring Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker.
• The PPD is shown assisting members of the Baltimore Police Department on a 2002 episode of The Wire during the extradition and arrest of criminal Wee-Bey Brice.
• The PPD is featured in the series Presidential Agent written by W.E.B. Griffin.
• The PPD is featured in the series Badge of Honor written by W.E.B. Griffin.
• The PPD is also featured in the 2007 film Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg.
• The PPD is also featured in the 2008 BBC documentary Law and Disorder in Philadelphia, presented by Louis Theroux.
• The PPD is featured in several segments of the television series Cops during the early 1990s and 2000s.
• A member of the PPD shoots himself to death after being overcome by suicidal madness in the 2008 environmental thriller The Happening by director M. Night Shyamalan.
• PPD Mounted and several Patrol cars appear in a strange early Jeff Bridges film-titled ,"Winter Kills " -from 1979. Movie has a bizarre history- included Elizabeth Taylor & John Huston..yet never released in its entirety.. Turns out the production ran out of money &bounced some checks against the PPD, City of Phila & others...the movie was finally released on DVD a few years ago. The movie itself aspired to greatness with hilarious inconsistencies..
• Remake of "Blow Up" with John Travolta in early 80's- also filmed in Philadelphia & included several of Phila's Finest.
• Members of the department were depicted in the 2009 thriller film, Law Abiding Citizen.

[edit] See also

	Philadelphia portal
	Pennsylvania portal
	Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics portal

• List of law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania
• Philadelphia Highway Patrol
• Philadelphia Fire Department
• Criminal Justice Center (Philadelphia)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Philadelphia Police Department

• Philadelphia Police Department official website
• Honoring All Fallen Members of the Philadelphia Police Department
• History of City of Philadelphia and its Police Department