Center City Philadelphia

The Center City District's community service representatives (CSRs) are an effective deterrent to crime and a welcoming presence in downtown Philadelphia, equally prepared to administer first aid, provide directions, radio police or provide outreach to homeless individuals.

CSRs patrol Center City on foot seven days a week, outfitted in distinctive teal uniforms and equipped with two-way radios and first aid gear, maps and more.

Police Partnership

The CSRs enjoy a unique working relationship with the Philadelphia Police Department. Foot and bicycle patrol officers are deployed from the Center City District Police Substation, which is co-located with the CCD's administrative offices, and the CSRs participate in twice-daily roll call with police officers assigned there.

Public Space Reporting

Using customized handheld computers and a geographic information system (GIS), specially trained CSRs survey every block in the Center City District monthly for violations and problems in the public environment.

Their reports of code violations, broken fire hydrants, clogged sewers, etc., are forwarded promptly to the responsible agency and CCD follows up to ensure prompt attention.

CCD also hosts regular meetings of all participating agencies, including government, utilities, transit providers and others, to ensure a well-maintained public environment in Center City.

If you have or observe a problem or a violation to report, click here for a list of relevant agencies.

Homeless Action Team

Specially trained CSRs provide daytime outreach services to help get the homeless off downtown streets and into safe environments with any necessary social services. Learn More »

Training and Employment

The CCD hires and trains two CSR classes annually. We prefer applicants with two years of college in related fields such as tourism, hospitality, retail or security or a high school diploma with two years job experience in a related field.

CSRs start with three weeks of classroom training, learning observational skills, how to patrol safely and how to recognize and report crime. "CSR School" also includes customer service and hospitality and a thorough orientation to Center City. From there, each trainee spends another three weeks on patrol with a veteran CSR before beginning to patrol independently.