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What They're Promising: Police

A look at some of the latest proposals issued by major candidates in Philadelphia's May 15 mayoral primary: Businessman Tom Knox expanded on his earlier promise to hire 1,000 police officers over five years. Knox said as many as 250 would be assigned to schools - two each to 45 high schools plus a 160-officer tax force that would patrol other schools. He would also expand community policing by deploying an unspecified number of squads of beat officers, establishing a steady presence of the same officers in the same neighborhoods, patrolling on foot and by bicycle.

A look at some of the latest proposals issued by major candidates in Philadelphia's May 15 mayoral primary:

Businessman Tom Knox

expanded on his earlier promise to hire 1,000 police officers over five years. Knox said as many as 250 would be assigned to schools - two each to 45 high schools plus a 160-officer tax force that would patrol other schools. He would also expand community policing by deploying an unspecified number of squads of beat officers, establishing a steady presence of the same officers in the same neighborhoods, patrolling on foot and by bicycle.

Price tag:

$52 million a year, based on Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority estimates.

Where he'd get the money:

Knox said streamlining the development review process would save $2.5 million. Aggressive recycling would save $17 million a year in landfill costs; 311 call centers could free much more. Mainly, Knox would pay for the new jobs by not hiring people to replace old jobs.

Pro and con:

Community policing is a well-regarded strategy, but it is labor intensive. Knox's proposals are vague, including his feelings about which city departments might lose jobs from attrition so more police could be hired. Although he promised there would be no layoffs, Knox said he would not identify areas that would get fewer resources in his attrition strategy. "As soon as you start doing that, everybody starts thinking they're going to lose their jobs," he said.

The full text:

Read Knox's proposal at

» READ MORE: http://www.knoxforphilly.com/safe_neighborhoods_and_secure_schools

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- Andrew Maykuth

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