That's been policy since at least somewhere around 2010-2011, maybe earlier. I remember because where I was living at the time had a lot of dirtbike/ATV activity. The cops chased one, the ATV driver hit and injured/killed a pedestrian trying to flee, and now here we are.

I'll agree that Philly is a total shitshow right now but it can't all be laid at Kenney's/Krasner's feet. PPD has been completely useless for a looooong time. Living at that same place I heard a woman get kidnapped, screaming for her life as her voice faded away with the vehicle she'd been dragged into. I called 911 several times with no answer so I called the police district. Their reaction was literally "what do you want us to do about it?" This was over ten years ago. Around the same time I was robbed at gunpoint west of Drexel campus and the police insisted on filing it as a theft, not a robbery. I can go on and on and on.

edit: and for the record I voted for both of them and I'm really disappointed in them both. I'm seriously disappointed in our city from top to bottom, honestly