Philadelphia waives residency requirement for police and prison guards amid staffing shortages

Philadelphia has lifted its residency requirement for police and prison guards as they face staffing shortages.

Mayor Jim Kenney requested a waiver to lift the residency rule first adopted in 2020. 

According to CNN, the residency rule was originally implemented to diversity recruits for the Philadelphia Police Department and the Department of Prisons. Philadelphia cited high position vacancies as their reasoning behind lifting the rule. Kenney hopes this will allow the departments to broaden their potential pool of applicants.

Philadelphia City Councilmember Derek Green said Thursday, “The two-year-old measure, offered as a vehicle to help drive diversity within the City’s police force, has been a hindrance in addressing critical staffing shortages within both the Philadelphia Police and Prisons Departments.”

He continued, “While I appreciate Mayor Kenney’s attention to the residency issue, officers’ starting salaries are below the national average and this pay gap is the other major reason, according to Commissioner (Danielle) Outlaw, that we are having difficulty hiring new officers.”

Police union Lodge 5 Fraternal Order of Police had opposed the residency requirement from the start.