Philadelphia Police Department

What Philadelphia Police Department does

The Philadelphia Police Department is the primary municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Philadelphia, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with operating history documented back to 1850. It provides law enforcement, crime prevention, and community policing services to the residents and visitors of Philadelphia under the authority of the City government, currently administered under Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. The department operates from its headquarters at the Philadelphia Public Services Building, 400 N. Broad Street, and functions as a component of the city's public safety infrastructure.

The department's core administrative process documented in the input is the Open Records/Right to Know Section, which processes public records requests including police incident reports, fire reports, EMS reports, police record checks, letters of good conduct, crash reports, and audio/video recordings including bodycam footage. These requests are handled under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law and Act 22 (42 Pa.C.S. § 67A), which establishes specific procedures and fee schedules for police records. Requests must be submitted in-person or via certified mail and are processed by Lieutenant Barry Jacobs, the designated Open Records/Right to Know Section contact. The department charges $125 per recording produced (covering up to one hour of labor for review, redaction, and production), plus $200 for each additional hour of labor required, with additional fees for postage or physical media production.

As a municipal government entity, the Philadelphia Police Department does not generate revenue in a commercial sense and is funded through annual appropriations from the City of Philadelphia's budget. The input data contains no information on technology products, software platforms, AI/ML capabilities, or commercial service offerings attributable to the department itself; its technical footprint is limited to its presence within the City of Philadelphia's centralized government services platform (phila.gov) and standard public records request workflows.

Name

Philadelphia Police Department

Legal name

Philadelphia Police Department

Website

https://phila.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1850

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Philadelphia Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Philadelphia, providing crime prevention, policing services, and public records access under Pennsylvania state law to city residents and external requesters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Law Enforcement Services

NAICS

Police Protection (92212), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

akta.pro primary industry

Police Services (Patrol, Response & Community Policing) (BPAIAGAA)

Keywords

• Municipal law enforcement
• Public safety services
• Crime prevention
• Community policing
• Police records access

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

The Philadelphia Police Department is the primary municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Philadelphia, providing patrol, crime prevention, investigation, and community policing services. It also operates an Open Records/Right to Know Section that processes public records requests including police incident reports, crash reports, fire/EMS reports, letters of good conduct, and audio/video and body camera recordings under Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law and Act 22 (42 Pa.C.S. § 67A).

Product overview

The Philadelphia Police Department is a municipal law enforcement agency of the City of Philadelphia. The source data does not contain information about product or service offerings as a technology product company. The available information relates to the department's administrative processes, including open records requests and public safety reporting procedures managed through the City of Philadelphia's centralized government services platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Law Enforcement and Patrol Services Core municipal policing services including patrol, criminal investigation, crime prevention, and community policing for residents of and visitors to the City of Philadelphia.
• Police Records Request Service Open Records/Right to Know Section service that processes public requests for police incident reports, crash reports, fire/EMS reports, police record checks, letters of good conduct, and audio/video/bodycam recordings under Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law and Act 22 (42 Pa.C.S. § 67A). Requests for audio/video/bodycam recordings must be made in-person or via certified mail.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• New York City Police Department (NYPD): Largest municipal police department in the United States, providing patrol, response, and community policing services to New York City. Directly comparable as a large urban law enforcement agency operating under municipal authority with public records obligations.
• Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD): Municipal police agency serving the City of Los Angeles, offering patrol, investigative, and community policing services. Direct peer as a similarly sized California/major-city counterpart with open records responsibilities.
• Chicago Police Department: Primary municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Chicago, providing patrol, response, and community policing. Direct peer given comparable scale, urban jurisdiction, and Illinois FOIA-equivalent transparency obligations.
• Houston Police Department: Municipal police department serving the City of Houston, Texas, providing patrol, response, and investigative services. Direct peer as another large US city police force operating under Texas Public Information Act obligations.
• Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia: Primary law enforcement agency for Washington, D.C., delivering patrol, response, and community policing services. Direct peer as a major urban police agency with statutory transparency obligations.
• Phoenix Police Department: Municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Phoenix, providing patrol, response, and community policing. Direct peer as another large US city police department with comparable public records processes.
• Dallas Police Department: Municipal police department serving the City of Dallas, Texas, delivering patrol, response, and investigative services. Direct peer given similar scale, urban context, and Texas public information law exposure.
• San Antonio Police Department: Primary law enforcement agency for the City of San Antonio, providing patrol, response, and community policing. Direct peer as a comparably sized Texas municipal police department.
• San Francisco Police Department: Municipal police agency for the City and County of San Francisco, delivering patrol, response, and community policing. Direct peer as a large urban department with strong public records (Sunshine Ordinance) obligations.
• Baltimore Police Department: Municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Baltimore, Maryland, providing patrol, response, and community policing. Direct peer as an East Coast urban police department of comparable scale with Maryland Public Information Act obligations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PhiladelphiaGov
• GitHubgithub.com/CityOfPhiladelphia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/PhilaGov
• Facebookfacebook.com/cityofphiladelphia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/showcase/phlcitycareers
• Instagraminstagram.com/cityofphiladelphia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Philadelphia Police Department