Philadelphia’s police department has appointed more commanders commanders per officer than any other major city. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the city’s 168 officers ranking captain or higher are more than Los Angeles’ and Houston’s numbers combined. The disparity will increase because Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson wants to promote another 32 commanders in anticipation of retirements. Each commander costs taxpayers about $10,000 more each year in higher salaries. Philadelphia has one commander for every 42 officers; New York City has one for every 49; Los Angeles, one for every 91; Chicago, one per 84. “Why do you have all this brass?” said Temple University law school professor Charles H. Rogovin, a law-enforcement expert who served on President Lyndon Johnson’s crime cmmission. “You really have to say: ‘What… are they doing?’ There’s not an unlimited pool of funds.”
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