The Governor is ensuring that Pennsylvania police departments, fire departments, and Emergency Medical Services professionals are well-funded, well-staffed, well-trained, and well-equipped.
- Secured new funding for the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) while reducing PSP’s reliance on gas tax revenue by $125 million annually over the next four years.
- Succeeded in obtaining new funding for four trooper cadet classes in 2023-24 and in 2024-25 to train nearly 800 new troopers, filling staffing gaps and ensuring the Pennsylvania State Police are well-funded and well-trained.
- Awarded more than $3 million in law enforcement recruitment grants to help attract high-quality recruits and fill more nearly 700 municipal law enforcement positions across the Commonwealth.
- Fought for and secured an additional $60 million for county 911 services, increasing critical emergency funding for counties.
- Removed the Pennsylvania State Police’s 60 college credits requirement for cadets graduating from the Academy, increasing overall applications by 258% and expanding opportunities to hundreds of otherwise ineligible applicants.
- Fully implemented body worn cameras for Pennsylvania Capitol Police Officers and rolled out those cameras for Pennsylvania State Police that cover 51 counties.
- Created the Pennsylvania Citizen Law Enforcement Advisory and Review Commission to bring together law enforcement experts and criminal justice reform advocates to support public safety and ensure accountability for state law enforcement agencies.
- Worked with the General Assembly to secure $20.7 million in funding for increased mileage reimbursements for ambulance services, protecting access to healthcare and ensuring that EMS workers and first responders are properly reimbursed.
- Awarded more than $31 million in grants to over 2,000 volunteer and career fire companies, emergency medical services, and rescue squads.
The Shapiro Administration prioritized public safety by supporting commonsense legislation and taking illicit drugs off the streets.
- Signed an Executive Order re-establishing the Pennsylvania Office of Gun Violence Prevention to bring together agencies working on gun violence prevention to create one comprehensive, coordinated strategy for the Commonwealth to reduce gun deaths, injuries, and crime.
- Supported common sense gun reform legislation to ban the purchase of untraceable gun parts, to implement universal background checks, close the gun show loophole, and establish Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
- Took almost $120 million worth of illegal drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, off the streets through the Pennsylvania State Police.
- Signed legislation into law to limit access to xylazine, increasing safeguards against theft and diversion while ensuring legal access and use for veterinarians across the Commonwealth.
- Distributed over 400,000 xylazine/fentanyl test strips and approximately 127,000 naloxone kits through the Pennsylvania Overdose Prevention Program to community-based organizations and other group
This Administration invested tens of millions of dollars in public safety and violence intervention and prevention initiatives.
- Appointed Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis as the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
- Secured two increases to the Violence Intervention and Prevention Program in two consecutive budgets—increasing available funding by $15 million.
- Secured $11.5 million to create the Building Opportunity through Out of School Time (BOOST) Program to reduce community violence by providing more after-school learning opportunities for young people.
- Signed the FY2023-24 budget with a $250,000 increase to support the It’s On Us PA initiative that aims to keep college students across Pennsylvania safe from campus sexual assault.
- In his second budget, Shapiro secured a $5 million increase for the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund, doubling Pennsylvania’s investment in resources for places of worship, community centers, and other entities to equip themselves with security measures. The Shapiro Administration has awarded over $16 million to hundreds of organizations to combat hate crimes by enhancing the safety and security of their facilities.