DV Journal

Turn on the TV news at 11 p.m., and there’s a never-ending parade of shootings, carjackings, and other violent criminal incidents.

In recent years, police have been under attack, be it from Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, who advocated defunding the police, or progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who has a reputation for prosecuting officers while being lenient toward offenders.

Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick was recently endorsed by the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and 48 county sheriffs. Previously, the PA FOP had endorsed Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr., McCormick’s opponent.

“Dave’s committed to making sure we have the resources we need to fulfill our mission of protecting millions of Pennsylvania families,” said Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President Stephen Polishan.

It can be challenging for municipalities to hire enough police officers to fill vacancies.

Stefan Roots, the City of Chester mayor, told DVJ that Chester police are now on 12-hour shifts.

“We’re way below what we’re budgeted to hire,” said Roots, a Democrat who took office in January. The department has about 70 members, but he did not want to disclose the shortfall.

“What the 12-hour shifts do is take the amount of cops that we have and instead of dividing them by three throughout the day, we divide them by two. So, we automatically have more officers available on the streets.”

“Like every police department in America, the two Rs are recruitment and retention.”

The state police and, through District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, Delaware County Park Police are also filling in at City Hall, he said.

“So, we have more officers consistently on the streets than we’ve had in a long time,” said Roots. “And that’s the key.”

While crime has been creeping up, it’s lower than the historically high numbers of five and 10 years ago, he said.

In 2023, there were 13 homicides in Chester, 11 sexual assaults and 76 robberies. In the first six months of 2024, the city saw three homicides, four sexual assaults, and 11 robberies. Chester has about 33,000 residents. After years of financial difficulties, it’s currently under state receivership.

“It does help, the presence of law enforcement in the neighborhood,” said Roots. “It makes the bad guys think twice.”

Former Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said, “The 12-hour shifts are sold as a way to save money, and they are popular with police. The problem is that it encourages the police to start pursuing other jobs. They are only working five or six days every two weeks as police officers, leaving a lot of free time. Instead of a police officer who is focused on policing all of the time, you end up with a real estate broker who is a police officer on the side.”

Mike Chitwood, former Upper Darby police superintendent, believes 12-hour police shifts will help “with more time on the streets.”

But he warns officers will burn out.

“Eventually, it’ll get tiring. Obviously, they don’t have the manpower. It’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Chitwood.

He’s also concerned about officers from other agencies policing the town.

“There’s no way you’re going to get the same policing as from your own officers,” said Chitwood.

Roots is coupling his police shift change with an emphasis on enforcing a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew already on the books for youth under 18. He’s also highlighting the many activities available for young people through the Safe Summer Initiative.

Chitwood said enforcing the curfew should help.

Hogan said, “The community-based programs, like for juveniles, are only effective if they are paired up with vigorous enforcement tools. If the police do hot spot policing and target the most violent offenders, a juvenile program might add some marginal benefit. On its own, the program will not be effective.”

According to the state police, Delaware County had 32 murder/manslaughter cases in 2023 and 26 in 2024; there were 39 rapes in 2023 and 33 in 2024; and 393 robberies in 2023 with 113 so far in 2024.

In neighboring Chester County, there have been six murder/manslaughter cases in 2024 and five in 2025. Chester County saw 35 rapes so far this year and 67 last year. It reported 27 robberies in 2024 and 66 in 2023.

Bucks County had six murder/manslaughter cases in 2024 and eight in 2023. It reported 35 rapes this year and 72 last year. Bucks had 52 robberies in 2024 and 111 in 2023.

There have been eight murder/manslaughter cases in Montgomery County in 2024 and 22 in 2023. Montgomery County reported 50 rapes in 2024 and 104 in 2023. It listed 129 robberies in 2024 and 278 robberies in 2023.

McCormick promises to support law enforcement and be tough on crime.

“Joe Biden and Bob Casey’s soft-on-crime agenda has failed them and made our commonwealth more dangerous. It’s time our men and women in blue had a leader in Washington who will fight tirelessly to get them the support they deserve,” said McCormick. Casey, a Democrat, is in his 18th year in the Senate.

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Stefan Roots has beaten Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland in the Democratic primary for Chester mayor and will be on the ballot in November. And it’s possible Roots may be running against himself.

Without a Republican candidate in the race, the GOP nominee will be determined by the results of the 205 write-in ballots. And given that Roots has received a significant number of write-in votes from Republicans in the past, speculation is rife within City Hall that he is likely to be the GOP nominee, too.

Delaware County Spokeswoman Adrienne Marofsky said the county was still counting votes and could not confirm on Thursday whether the write-in Republican votes were for Roots or other candidates.

Roots told DVJournal on Wednesday that if he did get the most Republican write-in votes, it wasn’t part of his plan.

“I did not cross-file,” Roots said. “So, if Republicans voted for me, I’d be curious to know how many.”

“When I ran for council, I got 94 write-ins. Between then and now, I learned that if I’d gotten to 100, that would automatically put me on the ballot in the fall. I guess I’m a Republican and a Democrat. I’ll be competing against myself.”

Roots mentioned in a May 16 article that he was confident he would get enough Republican votes to run in November.

Asked about that article that mentions Republicans voting for him, Roots said it was not part of his strategy, but he would not be surprised, given that he had 94 Republican write-in votes when he ran for council, that more Republicans would write his name in.

“I assumed it was the same 94 plus at least six more,” he said when asked to clarify his remarks. Since he has been on council, he said more people know about him. “There was not any effort on my part. If they did it on their own, they did it on their own.”

On the Democrat side, Roots received 2,027 votes to Kirkland’s 730. Patricia Worrell tallied 552.

Kirkland did not respond to requests for comment.

Roots, a blogger and councilman, campaigned on the promise that he would offer a fresh start for the beleaguered city, which is under the control of a state Receiver because of longstanding financial difficulties.

“There will be changes,” said Roots. “I think the degree to which things will change will probably be more incremental than a big bang.”

Roots added, “There’s the Receiver, and court cases will be heard and hopefully settled even before I take office, which won’t be until January.”

“There’s a lot of moving parts,” said Roots. “You know, I wish I could wave a magic wand and throw all the appeals out the window and just focus on getting things right. But our mayor and council members have chosen to challenge receivership in the direction the courts want to go. I’m still a council person, and I can’t reverse any of that in the meantime.”

Asked about Covanta, the trash incinerator that has been an issue for many Chester residents, Roots said he would be more aggressive than Kirkland in demanding benefits for the city from Covanta.

“I’m looking to work with them to partner in beautifying Chester,” said Roots. “It’s long overdue. They want to be a partner, and I don’t think the city has asked enough of them up until now. They’re going to hear my knock at the door quite often.”

Roots said there are seven months for him and his team to make the transition to a new administration.

“The team I’ve assembled is champing at the bit,” said Roots. Chester has been losing “one brick at a time,” he said. “It’s time to put the pieces back together again in the other direction.”

As a little reward for winning, Roots went to his favorite shoe store Wednesday morning and bought himself a new pair of black dress shoes.

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