No joke.
And, the guys in the mayor's office didn't know about it. The budget was dry and a transfer of funds was needed to keep the folks in their gear. Else, I guess, the fashion police would be called. Or, the police might be wearing their pants low, like some of the kids that they might need to chase on neighborhood streets.
Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Delivers 40 New Police Officers to Pittsburgh Force: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Delivers 40 New Police Officers to Pittsburgh ForceMeanwhile, the union boss for the police told me he is dead set against anyone doing police work, other than police. So, he doesn't like the fact that crossing guards can write a ticket. I don't think he knew that they had those powers already.
Second grant will reduce the backlog of drug samples at county lab
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today joined Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Police Chief Nate Harper to announce two grants totaling $2.12 million. One enables the city to hire 40 new officers to battle the rising gun violence and the other will fund a high-tech microscope to reduce the backlog of drug cases at the county's forensic laboratory.
Furthermore, he was un-aware that the Safety Ambassadors hired by a tax impossed from the Downtown BID (Business Improvement District) are really beat cops, or try to take the place of beat cops. However, some of those PDP (Pgh Downtown Partnership) safety ambassadors were dealing drugs while on the job in the past.
That program is nuts.
Why should it be a priority to have CROSSING GUARDS like people help corporate types downtown when we don't have the real crossing guards employed by the right agency and with the right equipment, as in radios and cell phones.
The meter maids who write parking tickets have radios. The same should be provided for Crossing Guards.
The PDP should be hiring CROSSING GUARDS and not its own secuirity force for downtown.
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Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Delivers 40 New Police Officers to Pittsburgh Force
Wednesday October 25, 4:00 pm ET
Second grant will reduce the backlog of drug samples at county lab
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today joined Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Police Chief Nate Harper to announce two grants totaling $2.12 million. One enables the city to hire 40 new officers to battle the rising gun violence and the other will fund a high-tech microscope to reduce the backlog of drug cases at the county's forensic laboratory.
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"We know that drugs and guns often go hand in hand and these grants will help to attack the problem from both ends," Governor Rendell said. "Pittsburgh can move forward with hiring 40 new officers to crack down on illegal handgun trafficking, and the county forensic lab will get new technology that will reduce the backlog of drug samples awaiting analysis, ultimately resulting in offenders moving faster through the judicial process. It is a double victory for the criminal justice system and the citizens of Pittsburgh."
The officers will be funded through the Police on Patrol program, created by the Governor in July amid growing violence statewide. Governor Rendell has announced that 15 cities, including Pittsburgh, were eligible to share nearly $10 million to hire 195 new officers. Pittsburgh's grant has been approved and the funds will be released by January 1.
"Last year in Pittsburgh, 54 people lost their lives to gun violence, and another 1,200 were victims of aggravated assaults and robberies with firearms," Governor Rendell said. "All in all, nearly 85 percent of the homicides here were committed with firearms. It is imperative that we work together to curb the violence that is claiming lives and destroying families."
Governor Rendell also talked about how the county's new Ramon spectrometer, funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), will reduce the backlog of drug samples awaiting testing at the county forensic lab by 25 percent. Currently, there is a backlog of more than 1,600 cases at the lab awaiting testing. The county lab serves more than 120 police departments and annually processes more than 6,000 drug cases.
Lab officials say that the spectrometer - the latest in drug detection technology - is able to analyze samples of substances packaged in plastic bags such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana without having to remove the substances from the bags and prepare them for analysis.
"Cases often are delayed - sometimes even dropped - because the evidence hasn't been processed in time," Governor Rendell said.
In addition, the county lab received funds from the PCCD to purchase a capillary electrophoresis for detecting drug and explosives residue. Right now, the county does not have the capability to detect high-end explosives such as TNT and C4 and must call on the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives labs, located in Maryland, when such situations arise.
"This takes longer and costs more because the county has to call on the feds to perform the tests, ship the evidence and await the analysis. Later, they have to pay for the federal lab employees to testify in court," Governor Rendell said. "Now, the county will be able to quickly respond when these situations arise."
Governor Rendell stressed that law enforcement alone will not solve the gun or drug problem, and called on educators, civic organizations, non- profits, the faith community and businesses to do what they can to improve the lives and hope of young people who live in their neighborhoods.
"As we step up police patrols, we must also reach out to our young people who are in trouble or at risk of getting in trouble and help them to grow into law-abiding citizens," Rendell said.
The Police on Patrol grant program is administered by the PCCD. With $10 million, the new program will mean that $50,000 a year will be available for three years to communities that demonstrate they will hire new officers - above budgeted planned hires - and add them to their street patrols. Communities have committed to continue to fund the positions fully for three years after state funds expire.
PCCD awarded the grants on a competitive basis, examining how effectively the municipality showed that additional police officers would impact the reduction of violent crime and whether the new officers would be given training to enhance the conflict resolution and mediation skills needed in the communities they will serve.
Other cities that received funds include: Philadelphia (100 officers); Reading, Allentown, Chester, Harrisburg, Erie, Altoona, Bensalem Township and Wilkes-Barre (5 officers each); Pottstown (4 officers); Williamsport, York and Chester Township (3 officers each); and New Castle (2 officers).
The Governor added that, in addition to the money and long-term programs, he is committed to getting some common sense gun laws on the books in Pennsylvania, including legislation that would limit handgun purchases to one a month, and that would require citizens and gun owners to report lost or stolen handguns within 24 hours of recognizing they were missing.
"All of us are at risk when handguns are so easily attained by those who want them for all the wrong reasons," Governor Rendell said.
In the current budget, Governor Rendell won the Legislature's approval to increase state police ranks with the hiring of 316 additional state troopers. Once the new members of the Pennsylvania State Police are installed, the state's full complement of troopers permitted by law, 4,660, will have been achieved.
Additionally, the Governor held a high-level summit on gun crimes last March and pledged to deploy Pennsylvania State Troopers to work with the Philadelphia Police Department to specifically help with their gun interdiction efforts. "Since last fall, 23 troopers have been detailed to municipalities across the state to work with the ATF to investigate and help stop gun trafficking."
The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us.
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