Sheriff Rochelle Bilal was sworn into a four-year term to lead the Office of the Sheriff for the City and County of Philadelphia on Jan. 6, 2020. She is the first elected African American woman sheriff, in the 343-year history of the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office.
Bilal, a 27-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, formerly served as Secretary of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP and she is the former President of the Guardian Civic League, a law enforcement community oversight organization, made up of over 2,000+ active and retired Philadelphia law enforcement professionals. Formally, served as an appointed member of Philadelphia City Council’s Special Committee on Child Separations.
As a Philadelphia police officer, Sheriff Bilal served in units that focused on sex crimes and drug trafficking, including work in HIDTA (high intense drug and traffic area), a joint task force with the FBI and DEA.
She also spent time in patrol and taught recruits at the Philadelphia Police Training Center, where she launched the Steer Straight initiative. Steer Straight, which is still in existence today, helps new police recruits to identify and avoid situations that may pose potential risks to their future careers in law enforcement. Bilal retired from Philadelphia Police Department in 2013.
Sheriff Bilal’s experience also includes time spent as the director of public safety in Colwyn Borough, where she managed the police and fire departments while developing a community outreach program for the Colwyn Police Department.
Sheriff Bilal is an advocate of criminal justice reform and encourages community engagement and outreach with her office. As sheriff, she implements policies and procedures to improve the efficiency and engagement of 428 employees of the department. The Sheriff’s Office has a $32 million + budget and oversees court security, prisoner transportation to and from the court, as well as managing sheriff’s sales, court-ordered sales of foreclosed and tax-delinquent properties.
Sheriff Bilal is a lifelong resident of Philadelphia.
