In 2017, Mayor Kenney signed Executive Order 2-17 to reestablish the Police Advisory Commission. The PAC, under this Executive Order, was newly empowered to translate complex policies for residents, improve communication between the PPD and residents, and help resolve systemic concerns related to policing in Philadelphia. Then, in November 2020, the residents of Philadelphia voted to create the Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC) and bring a new version of civilian oversight of police to Philadelphia.

In between those two important milestones, the PAC worked diligently with limited resources to produce impactful work that fulfilled the responsibilities of the Executive Order and held the PPD accountable. This 2017-2020 Collective Annual Report highlights the painstaking work done by the PAC and commemorates this important period of growth for civilian oversight of police in Philadelphia.

City leaders are working now to determine how the CPOC will function and what powers it will have. CPOC will undoubtedly make much needed changes to oversight and police accountability in Philadelphia, but oversight is a collective effort requiring support from residents, elected officials and PPD. It is only with this support, as well as proper authority and funding, that CPOC will be able to build on the momentum gained by the PAC in recent years.

The PAC 2017-2020 Collective Annual Report is available to view on the PAC website,   https://www.phila.gov/PAC. The PAC will present on the 2017-2020 Collective Annual Report at our next Community Meeting on Monday, March 15 at 6:00pm. Join us for this meeting on Zoom at https://tinyurl.com/PACMar21.

Please contact the PAC at pac@phila.gov or 215-685-0891 with questions.