Over the last three years, verbal threats and physical assaults on PPA officers have nearly tripled, raising concerns about worker safety amid a staff shortage.
In June, Thomas Headley was writing up an illegally parked sedan in Northern Liberties when the driver got “nose to nose” with him and threatened to punch his lights out.
Altercations come with the turf for the parking enforcement officers, or PEOs, whose salaries start around $37,000 a year. But over the last three years, verbal threats and physical assaults have nearly tripled, raising concerns about worker safety amid a staff shortage and even disrupting enforcement operations in particularly violent areas.
Most alarming to PPA officials is the uptick in gun threats. Midway through 2022, six officers have reported someone flashing a gun at them during their patrols, compared with only one gun incident in the previous three years combined., one pistol-toting man reportedly told an officer who was ticketing a Northwest Philly block in March.“We’re at a point where the citizens are kind of running the city,” said Christine Quinn, the deputy manager of parking enforcement.
But the increase in violence and physical threats has PPA officials implementing more de-escalation training and looking for new ways to keep patrols safe — even if that means making some blocks no-go zones.Many altercations have occurred in the PPA’s expanding network of residential parking zones. Supervisors will rush to the scene to assist a staffer who reports a threat, and call the police if the situation becomes physical. PEOs are also told to hide in businesses to avoid an aggressive person. On residential blocks, however, there is often nowhere to hide. Officers must rely on their de-escalation training to defuse risky situations — or flee.Safety concerns have led the PPA to cease enforcement entirely in three areas, though officials declined to identify the blocks.
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