A new audit from the Citizens Police Oversight Commission finds Philadelphia police officers aren’t always keeping their body worn cameras on during vehicle stops. The commission calls the finding a “major concern”.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration plans to allocate more to Riverview than to all other opioid settlement money initiatives combined.
Emily Rizzo is the Accountability Reporter for Kensington Voice. She mostly covers the city’s response to the opioid and housing crises in Kensington, with a focus on how new policies and initiatives affect the community.
Students from Gloria Casarez Elementary School in Kensington lined up to testify in support of the legislation, carrying handmade signs that read: “No needles,” “Don’t sell drugs,” “I just want to be a kid,” “We want to be able to play outside,” and “I want to feel safe.”
The amendments, approved in a 12-3 vote, would require mobile providers to obtain permits while also imposing strict location and time limits on their operations.
The Overdose Prevention and Community Healing Fund, or Prevention Fund, used a community-led grantmaking process to distribute $3.1 million to 43 organizations in 2024.
Parker’s spending plan includes $216 million over five years on the “wellness ecosystem,” mostly for the Riverview Wellness Village, a 336-bed recovery housing facility for people who have completed between 30 and 90 days of substance use treatment.
The new dashboard provides data on violent crime, property crime, police response times, overdose incidents, and emergency services efforts. It also monitors health, quality of life, and economic opportunity metrics.
While there was some tension, there were also moments of empathy, vulnerability, and shared struggle. The conversation was not black and white, with many landing somewhere in the middle.
The city’s new Kensington “wellness court” has led to nine arrests since its launch last week, but questions about its effectiveness remain as two participants left treatment and outreach workers are now searching for them.
Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order Tuesday allowing police to take people into custody for certain summary offenses that were decriminalized under former Mayor Jim Kenney.
