Funds raised go directly toward providing critical equipment, technology, training and innovative programs to help the Philadelphia Police Department improve public safety and enhance service to the city. Recent funding projects include:
- DNA Analyst Training: The PPF is proud to support PPD’s Office of Forensic Science. We are currently funding another extended training for new Forensic Scientists. This training is for DNA Analysts in the Criminalistics Unit. The training is months of study, practice, and evaluation. Those in the Office of Forensic Science are vital to solving crimes, exonerating the innocent, developing investigative leads, and identifying perpetrators of crime. With violent crime on the rise in Philadelphia, the work of the OFS has never been more vital and necessary.
- Commercial Pilot License Training for 2 Tactical Flight Officers: PPD needs to enhance training and certification for two Tactical Flight Officers in obtaining their FAA Rotary Commercial Pilot License – a prerequisite to transition from Tactical Flight Officer to full Pilot in Command Status. The current compliment of fully licensed pilots is 3 sworn personnel and this drastically affects the Aviation Unit’s ability to maintain flight operations and keep the unit adequately staffed. Thus the PPF is stepping in to fill the gap and cover the costs of this training.
- New Canine Officer: PPD’s bomb-sniffing canine Bane died suddenly this past summer, leaving PPD with an unexpected need for a new highly trained canine. The PPF was able to step up and purchase a new K9 Officer for the Department. The new Canine (name: Deuce) will undergo 560 hours of initial patrol training and then another 400 hours of training in explosive detection. Deuce will serve the city with explosive detection as a 4-legged officer.
- New Technology and Vital Equipment for the newly formed Non-Fatal Shooting Unit
- 4 New Horses for the Mounted Unit
- Shop with a Cop is a national program pairing police officers with children to afford them a better Christmas. The program promotes synergy and partnership between the police and the communities they serve and helps foster a positive relationship between police and our precious children. Nearly 300 children (from under-served city neighborhoods) took part in 2022.
- Youth Advisory Commission: The PPD’s newly created Youth Advisory Commission (YAC) is a youth-led committee made up of members ranging in age from 14-18 years old. The Commission will focus on topics crucial to the youth, including public safety and police/community interactions.
- Office of Forensic Science – Extensive Training for 8 new Firearms Examiners Training: A firearms examiner is a Forensic scientist who performs operability tests on all recovered firearms, microscopic comparisons of cartridge cases to determine if items have been fired from the same weapon, serial number restorations on obliterated evidence, and other examinations required for investigations and court.
- Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Training
- Procedural Justice Youth Engagement Initiative: The goal is to engage with and gather information from youth to better understanding current youth experiences with, and attitudes and perceptions towards PPD.
- New ‘state of the art’ Highway Patrol Safety Helmets
- 50,000 KN95 protective face masks
- Crash Data Retrieval System for the Accident Investigation Division
- Expansion of the Children of Police Scholarship Fund (COPS), which provides K-12 scholarships for children of fallen or permanently injured members of the PPD.
- Ongoing cadet training programs at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Museum of African American History in Washington D.C., and National Constitution Center in Philadelphia
- State of the Art Ballistic Helmets for the elite tactical SWAT Team Unit
- Police Explorers Program, which guides teens to a better path for the future by teaching the values needed to succeed in a law enforcement career and in life