In his annual city budget address last Thursday, Mayor Michael Nutter announced the city’s plan to move the Philadelphia Police Department headquarters to West Philadelphia.
Currently at 8th and Race streets, the headquarters will relocate to 46th and Market streets, where the current landmark Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co. building stands.
The cost to renovate the proposed location remains uncertain. However, in 2008, the plan was rejected for its $70 million price tag.
The current cost for design and schematics is estimated to be $9 million dollars. The funding would be provided by the Pennsylvanian Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“[The plan] has been a long-time coming,” Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said.
Rush, who worked for the Philadelphia Police for 18 years prior to working at Penn, said the need for a new headquarters has existed for over 30 years.
According to Rush, the consequences of the move are “all positive.”
Particularly beneficial will be the increased police presence near campus, she said.
Penn Police officers won’t have to leave the campus area in order to reach the Philadelphia headquarters. Also, other police patrol cars will be coming to and from the new site increasing the visibility of police in the area, she added.
She believes the move will not have a negative effect on the coordination between city police and DPS.
“We have great coordination as it is,” she said.
In addition, Mayor Nutter, a 1979 Wharton graduate, also proposed to renovate six police stations across the city and hire 400 new officers in the coming year.
Engineering freshman Rocky Diegmiller said the relocation of the headquarters would not make him feel any safer on campus.
“It’s not changing the coverage I would imagine so I don’t think it affects anything,” he said.
College senior Jayson Weingarten agrees.
“The Penn Police and all the security we have is pretty good so I’ve always felt safe,” Weingarten said, explaining that the move is an “added peace of mind” but may not necessarily have a huge impact on campus crime rates.
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