Residency requirement is lifted for city police (Pittsburgh, Reading: crimes, salary)

[UKyank]

I wish it they were going this route regarding police residing in the city they would make it more localized & only hire from within police zones to fill open positions within those zones.

Personally I don't see any of the benefits a 'local' officer from the city gives me just from happening to live in the arbitrary city boundaries if he/she is still not from near my specific area.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I wish it they were going this route regarding police residing in the city they would make it more localized & only hire from within police zones to fill open positions within those zones.

Personally I don't see any of the benefits a 'local' officer from the city gives me just from happening to live in the arbitrary city boundaries if he/she is still not from near my specific area.

I can't really blame an officer who patrols Homewood not wanting to live in Homewood with his or her family and subjecting their child(ren) to potential harassment in school. Imagine if the child's police officer parent arrested the parent of another child in their class.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I can't really blame an officer who patrols Homewood not wanting to live in Homewood with his or her family and subjecting their child(ren) to potential harassment in school. Imagine if the child's police officer parent arrested the parent of another child in their class.

People shouldn't be mad at the cop who did the arrest but rather the person that was the criminal in their neighborhood. I think if my neighbor was a cop and he arrested my other neighbor for being a criminal, the neighborhood would be happy, but the criminals kids might not be too happy. That being said, I can see that situation playing out though.

However, with more diversity and cops actually getting to know the people in the neighborhoods they police, over time hopefully it will lessen this "us versus them" type outlook that currently exists between cops and citizens. The "us" should be cops and citizens, and the "them" should be the criminals.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

The amount of city-bashing occurring within the commentary of articles on the Facebook pages of local news affiliates is mind-numbing.

Ugh, this made me go read the ones on the PG, and now I hate myself.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

The "us" should be cops and citizens, and the "them" should be the criminals.

Yes Yes Yes!!

[norcider]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Ugh, this made me go read the ones on the PG, and now I hate myself.

Yeah, the comments on any crime involving a black suspect are vulgar as well. So I just plain don't believe it when anybody says Pittsburgh has moved past its race problem. I am sure there is a correlation between the same people voicing support against residency requirements for cops, and the disgusting commentary involving black on black crime.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by norcider

Yeah, the comments on any crime involving a black suspect are vulgar as well. So I just plain don't believe it when anybody says Pittsburgh has moved past its race problem. I am sure there is a correlation between the same people voicing support against residency requirements for cops, and the disgusting commentary involving black on black crime.

I don't believe a residence should be a factor and I certainly don't condone any disgusting commentary on black on black crime.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by norcider

Yeah, the comments on any crime involving a black suspect are vulgar as well. So I just plain don't believe it when anybody says Pittsburgh has moved past its race problem. I am sure there is a correlation between the same people voicing support against residency requirements for cops, and the disgusting commentary involving black on black crime.

I do not read the comments. I could care less about a racial slur or negative comment directed towards me or my people. I work in corporate america and I interact with white people daily. Some of us are respectful towards one another and some not so much. I do notice that it is the same people posting the same hate speech over and over. A miserable life that must be.

[Merge]

How anyone can not see the benefits of the Pittsburgh police living in the community (or one that's demographically similar) that they police is completely beyond me. It's simple common sense, really. Obviously, residency (along with the attendant knowledge of the community one works within) is part of the calculus that makes someone qualified to do the job. Someone who has not spent significant time in the city itself (and particularly within communities that are similar to where they will be working) will not be as qualified as a prospect who is a resident.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I am all about cops living in the city, and I am also all about diversifying the force. Saying we need the best person for the job no matter what their race is not the right approach though. There need to be multiple qualifying factors for officers which should include obvious ones like mental stability, physically being able to do the job, and being intelligent enough to handle the job. However, there should be others ones that should be taken into consideration that are equally important but not always as easy to "test" for. The persons background, such as prior jobs, where they grew up, and experiences should definitely play a role. Honestly, I would rather my neighborhood cop be someone from Brookline (or surrounding city neighborhoods) who scored 5 points worse than some random person from a suburb who aced the test.

Also, has the city ever considered a non-compete for the police force? I know the union would probably never go for it, but with the issue usually being that the "city trains them and the suburbs hires them" type situation I would wonder if that would work. If the issue is low pay, I would be all for a tax increase such as the library tax to pay for more and higher paid police/firefighters.

I'm sure there's more that goes into the hiring process in determining the best applicant than just an aptitude test.

Your neighborhood cop might be someone from Brookline. He may also choose to move from Brookline to another area that's not a city address.

If he decides to move to the burbs is he now unable to work for the city?