Daily News | Philly has spent $205 million on salaries for injured police since 2017. An audit found little is done to prevent fraud.
For nearly two decades, top city officials have argued that a generous but loosely-controlled state disability benefit meant for injured Philadelphia police officers has been an easy target for abuse.
And the controller’s office also found that the average number of officers who are listed as “no duty” — meaning that they can’t complete even menial tasks, like testifying in court or filing paperwork — has soared over the last 13 years from 234 to 572., an exploration of Pennsylvania’s Heart and Lung benefit, which allows police officers and firefighters to collect their full salaries — along with a 20% raise, in the form of tax breaks — after they’ve been injured in the line of duty.
The city’s Office of Risk Management, meanwhile, told the controller’s office that it has no formal investigative process to follow if it suspects a cop is taking advantage of the Heart and Lung system. And even if Risk Management confirms that an officer is abusing the benefit, the worst outcome the officer might face is simply being told to return to work — and the officer can appeal that decision to an arbitrator.
She also suggested that oversight be greatly improved. The current system to investigate Heart and Lung cases is “convoluted, lacks accountability, and does not appear to be adequate.” The process to flag potential fraud should be documented in writing and clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of each department, including Risk Management and PMA, she wrote.
Risk Management officials complained to the controller’s office that the state isn’t providing any oversight of Heart and Lung, even though it is a Pennsylvania benefit.
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