Sheriff’s office is failing Philadelphia — it’s time for an overhaul

For those who are outraged by what’s happening nationally, there’s a governing crisis you should care about in our own backyard. The dysfunction, mismanagement, and corruption at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office is a stain on the city, making it less safe, more chaotic, and unable to provide essential services. There is a clear, proven path to address this crisis. The only thing preventing progress is a lack of political courage.

This isn’t specific to current Sheriff Rochelle Bilal. The Committee of Seventy has long called for change, and recently chronicled the sheriff’s office’s history of scandal over the last 40 years, painting a picture of its systemic failures and providing several paths to reform. The latest reporting by The Inquirer — from backlogged sheriff sales stalling affordable housing to a deputy shortage weakening court security and probation enforcement — reinforces the need for bold action.

The sheriff’s office is failing at nearly every one of its core functions.

The way forward is clear: Transfer the responsibilities of the sheriff’s office to the mayor’s administration. Doing so would bring greater oversight, accountability, and efficiency to critical functions that impact public safety, economic growth, and housing stability.

This isn’t just mismanagement; these problems are actively holding Philadelphia back from becoming the cleaner, greener, and safer city Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has touted and that residents deserve. And City Council has the authority to make the needed change happen.

The core functions of the sheriff’s office are holding auctions of tax-delinquent properties, overseeing court security, prisoner transport, and enforcing probation detainers and evictions.

Mismanagement has left thousands of properties in limbo, stalling the Philadelphia Land Bank’s efforts to revitalize neighborhoods. Properties that could be transformed into businesses, homes, or green spaces instead sit abandoned, contributing to blight, attracting crime, and draining resources.

The sheriff’s stunning failure to enforce protection-from-abuse orders puts domestic violence survivors at risk. Meanwhile, the office’s inability to hire deputies weakens court security and probation enforcement, putting judges, staff, and the public at risk, and potentially violating the rights of those involved in the criminal justice system.

The sheriff’s office is failing at nearly every one of its core functions, but rather than taking responsibility, the sheriff blames judges and the media — all while she spends dubious slush fund money on a 6-foot-tall mascot and tries to give herself a pay raise.

The real victims here are the residents of Philadelphia, not the sheriff.

Philadelphia can’t afford to merely tinker with a failing system. We should follow the lead of cities like New York and Baltimore, which have replaced elected sheriffs with modern, centralized governance to great effect.

The duties and functions of the sheriff’s office could be integrated into the mayoral administration. The mayor would have the authority to appoint a sheriff to lead a department with the same responsibilities as the elected office, or the city could transfer the sheriff’s office’s responsibilities to city departments best equipped to handle them, ensuring transparent financial management, and enhanced oversight of their operations.

» READ MORE: Another Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office scandal. Another shrug. | Helen Ubiñas

Sheriff’s auctions, which involve large financial transactions, could be better managed under the finance director. This oversight could speed up property sales and improve coordination with the Philadelphia Land Bank and other departments to expand affordable housing and green spaces.

The deputy mayor of public safety could oversee court security, prisoner transport, eviction enforcement, and probation detainers, strengthening coordination with the courts, Philadelphia police, and other public safety entities.

» READ MORE: History makes it clear: Abolish the sheriff’s office | Editorial

These changes require City Council to pass legislation to change the Home Rule Charter and ultimately a ballot question that would give voters a say on whether the office should remain independently elected.

The Committee of Seventy commends the courts for holding the sheriff’s office accountable and urges City Council and the mayor to do the same. To build a cleaner, greener, and safer Philadelphia, we must move the sheriff’s office’s responsibilities to the mayor’s administration, where they belong.

It’s time to end this dysfunction and mismanagement. Philadelphia deserves bold leadership and a future built on integrity, accountability, and progress that could be a model for the nation.

Lauren Cristella is the president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan civic leadership organization that advances representative, ethical, and effective government in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania through citizen engagement and public policy advocacy.