Philadelphia may create a new, high-level position to coordinate its crime and safety response

Philadelphia may change how the city coordinates its public safety response by establishing a new, high-level position in city government that would oversee the police, fire, prisons, and emergency services departments.

Legislation introduced Thursday by City Council President Darrell L. Clarke would create a chief public safety director who would manage the budget, operations, and development of the city’s public safety response among a handful of agencies and departments, both inside and outside law enforcement.

The director would be among the top four administrative positions in city government, alongside the mayor, managing director, and finance director.

The new role requires a change to the city’s Home Rule Charter, so voters would need to approve its creation through a ballot question. If legislation is approved by City Council, the question could appear on the primary election ballot May 16. A spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney said his office would review the legislation.

The legislation comes as the city has for nearly three years seen an unprecedented number of homicides, largely driven by a spike in gun violence. The response coordinated by Kenney’s administration has been criticized, including by Clarke and other Council members, as disjointed.

Appointing someone to fill the role would be a key decision for the city’s next mayor, who will take office in January and replace Kenney, who is term-limited. Crime and public safety has been a defining issue in the mayor’s race as a crowded field of 10 people is seeking the office.

» READ MORE: Philly’s next mayor will inherit an unprecedented gun violence crisis

A handful of other cities, including Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, have similar director-level positions in city government that oversee the public safety response. In Newark, N.J., the director of public safety position was created in 2016 and oversees the Police Department, the Fire Department, and the Office of Emergency Management.

Philadelphia already employs a senior director of the Office of Criminal Justice and Public Safety to coordinate the city’s public-safety response. That position is currently held by Erica Atwood, who reports to the managing director.

Clarke, who said he discussed the plan with Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, said it was not intended to be a criticism of Atwood or Managing Director Tumar Alexander.

“I think that it’s time for us to do some things differently,” Clarke said. “I think it’s clear that having a person who would report directly to the mayor... would show that this is one the most significant and important issues in the city of Philadelphia.”

Council Majority Leader Curtis Jones Jr., who represents parts of West and Northwest Philadelphia, said he and a handful of Council members traveled to several cities over the last year to evaluate those cities’ crime and safety plans. One of those trips — an August 2021 trek to Chester — went off course, and by the end of the day, Kenney and District Attorney Larry Krasner were publicly clashing.

Jones said a public safety director-level role would “break down silos.”

“In those other cities, they simply got along, they simply coordinated, they simply used resources in a cohesive way to attack a problem,” Jones said. “The next mayor has to elevate that on the priority of things to do so that it is impactful.”

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents parts of West Philadelphia, said Thursday the new role would allow the municipal government to more effectively treat gun violence as a citywide emergency.

“We should be treating gun violence in our neighborhoods in the way that we’re treating COVID, in the sense that we’re mobilizing all the resources we have,” she said. “If we’re only thinking about gun violence as a police enforcement issue, we are losing the ability to bring so many more resources to the issue.”

Under the legislation, the new chief public safety director would be paid $265,000 a year. That’s higher than Kenney’s $224,000 annual base salary. Outlaw is paid $285,000 a year.

Inquirer staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed.