PRINTER'S NO. 363
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
43
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY A. DAVIS, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, HARRIS, DEASY,
WEBSTER, SCHWEYER AND PISCIOTTANO, FEBRUARY 3, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 3, 2021
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
conduct a study of the salaries and training of police
officers in this Commonwealth.
WHEREAS, According to a United States Bureau of Justice
Statistics 2008 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement
Agencies, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has more than 1,100
police forces and employs more than 27,000 officers; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth has the second-highest number of
individual police forces in the country and twice as many as the
national average; and
WHEREAS, A 2013 Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
report found that municipalities in this Commonwealth spend
approximately $1.3 billion dollars a year on police services,
including spending on 986 municipal police departments and 34
regional police departments representing 102 municipalities; and
WHEREAS, This same report found that more than half of
Pennsylvania's 2,500 municipalities have no police department
and of those 72% have 10 or fewer officers, and of those more
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than half have five or fewer full-time officers; and
WHEREAS, Municipalities have cited cost as the most
significant reason for not forming a police department and loss
of control as the reason for not forming regional departments;
and
WHEREAS, Part-time police officers and officers in small
departments may receive lower salaries and less training and
therefore must balance multiple jobs and face safety issues and
high turnover rates; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study of
the salaries of law enforcement officers across this
Commonwealth, including any disparities between departments, and
highlight the salary differences between part-time and full-time
officers of police departments; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
identify the training levels of different departments, comparing
the average time full-time and part-time forces take to complete
the minimum training and what training is offered to officers
beyond minimum training; and be it further
RESOLVED, That as legislative initiatives have proposed
specialized training on specific issues such as interacting with
persons suffering from mental health issues, use of force,
school safety and domestic violence, the Legislative Budget and
Finance Committee shall study the status of training across
police departments on these and other specialized issues beyond
the basic training required by statute; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
assess the rates of turnover of police officers and the factors
contributing most to these rates with emphasis on demographic
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information of the police officers, including race and gender
and whether or not they reflect the communities they serve,
whether salaries are insufficient and the presence or lack of
sufficient training and equipment, including whether the
department is using officer safety measures such as body
cameras; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
shall make recommendations for addressing disparities in
salaries and training between departments as well as specific
measures to eliminate discrepancies in standards between
departments with the goal of achieving higher quality services
and greater equity Statewide; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
report its findings to the General Assembly within 180 days of
the adoption of this resolution.
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