Antiquated Sheriff’s Office, the role in question
A Philadelphia City Councilman is offering a bill to abolish another row office. This time the sheriff might be put out to pasture.
A Philadelphia City Councilman is offering a bill to abolish another row office. This time the sheriff might be put out to pasture.
Sheriff John Green has announced his intentions to retire, and Councilman Frank DiCicco says it’s a good time to eliminate the office entirely.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about the Clerk of Quarter Sessions which has recently been pretty much abandoned,” says DiCicco. “The Sheriff’s Office is one of those row offices that has been pointed out time and time again by PICA [Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority] and the City Controller’s office as inefficient.”
The Sheriff’s Office is in charge of prisoner transport and selling off foreclosed homes among other things. If voters approve, the office would be abolished in 2012. There’s already one person running for sheriff on the platform that he would abolish the job if elected.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.