PITTSBURGH — During Tuesday’s 2025 budget address, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said his goal is to create a city for all. That includes what he calls a holistic and humane approach to public safety.
Mayor Gainey says post-pandemic revenue losses from businesses and an increase in homelessness have affected the city and the people who live and work there.
“Since the day I took office, I received more calls from a broader set of stakeholders to address our downtown, than any other issue,” Mayor Gainey said. “We invested heavily in an ‘all of the above’ public safety approach to downtown.”
For 2025, the Mayor is proposing a reduction in the number of Pittsburgh Police Officers from 850 to 800, and the addition of a couple dozen civilians. Those civilian jobs include manning the desks at each of the city’s six police substations, reviewing cameras and handling evidence.
“We are not replacing police officers, we are adding new civilian positions,” Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak told reporters. “Taking the officers we have and putting more of them into active, patrol and investigation.”
The police union says they’re not sure how the city will budget for overtime when they don’t have enough officers to begin with.
After the abrupt resignation of Chief Larry Scirotto following 11 Investigates reporting that he returned to officiating college basketball, the Mayor’s office says a decision on who will lead the department hasn’t been determined.
>> Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto to retire after mounting pressure over side job
Acting Chief Christopher Ragland diplomatically joked with reporters that he’s interested.
“My focus is not on my future, my focus is on the mission - the goals of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police,” Ragland said.
The city says it did not budget for a large nationwide police chief search like the last time.
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