Editorial: What's happening with police on the South Side?

In June 2024, a TribLive reporter and a photographer spent a night walking on Pittsburgh’s South Side.

They were documenting the crime and general atmosphere. It had been almost a year since Pittsburgh police implemented a special patrol to address an uptick in crime and a perception that the area was unsafe. Businesses had closed, citing the dangers. The city initiated the patrol to respond.

It worked, police said. ShotSpotter gunshot detections were down 60% on the South Side from the previous year. Crime hadn’t disappeared, but the presence of officers did appear to be a deterrent.

“I think we’ve met our challenge,” Chief Larry Scirotto said at that time. “But we’re going to keep improving. We’re not taking our foot off the gas pedal.”

Five months later, Scirotto was gone. He left amid controversy over his side gig refereeing NCAA basketball and a deal with Mayor Ed Gainey to do so unbeknownst to Pittsburgh city council.

There have been acting chiefs since, first Christopher Ragland, who was Gainey’s choice for the top job. Then he withdrew from consideration. On May 29, after Gainey lost the primary, council approved Martin Devine as the acting chief for the remainder of the mayor’s term. The next mayor will hire the new chief, presumably in 2026.

Has that led to a change on the South Side? The cause is debatable, but there is an increase in certain activity. Some crimes, like assault and burglary, are down a bit, and there have been no homicides this year. Others are up. Larceny, theft and robbery are slightly increased. Weapon violations are up by about a third. Destruction and vandalism are up, too.

Overall, these activities could be driven by substances. Drug and narcotic offenses in the first six months of the year are up dramatically: 110 in 2024 compared with 196 in 2025.

Those can be exactly the kind of activity that can be dissuaded by a uniformed police presence in the area, as the 2024 story would appear to demonstrate.

But, on June 29, there was a rowdy crowd of hundreds on the South Side streets in the early hours, with a reek of marijuana in the air and police coming in from all over the city. The previous week, other departments had to be called in to help. Monroeville, Etna and Shaler were among those responding.

The police union blames this on staffing. The department didn’t respond when asked how many officers were on duty last weekend. The low numbers of officers in the department compared to the number needed was a factor in the 2025 budget.

Scirotto said he wouldn’t take his foot off the gas when it came to stepping up in the South Side. But without an official chief, is anyone still at the wheel? And can the South Side wait six months — or more — for a new mayor to find a new chief?