Kevin J. Bethel sworn in as Philadelphia’s newest police commissioner

Kevin J. Bethel was sworn in as Philadelphia’s newest police commissioner Tuesday afternoon, cementing his return to a department where he spent the first 29 years of his career.

Bethel, who most recently served as head of school safety for the city’s school district, took his oath of office at Russell Conwell Middle School in Kensington, a neighborhood that has long struggled with high levels of crime. New Mayor Cherelle Parker — who was sworn in separately Tuesday — said during her inaugural address that the Police Department under her leadership would be aggressive in confronting the neighborhood’s drug market, which has long been the epicenter of the city’s opioid crisis.

Before administering the oath to Bethel, Parker took time to forcefully offer her support of him and his department, saying police in her administration will play a crucial role in enforcing the law, addressing crime, and enhancing the city’s sense of safety.

“This commissioner has the support of his mayor 1000%,” she said to loud applause and cheers. “I know he’s going to do what is right to make the public safety of our city his number one priority.”

Bethel, meanwhile, said he was energized to take on a role that would allow him to help address a violence crisis that he experienced first-hand while working at the school district — recounting instances in which he had to help school leaders repair bullet holes in windows, or work with officials to help children simply walk safely to and from school.

“My ‘why’ came from that,” he said, adding, rhetorically: “Is that who we are as a city? Is that who we want to be as a city?”

He sat next to his wife, Rhonda, and three adult daughters on stage, and thanked and credited them with helping him get to this stage of his career. He also thanked his mother, saying she worked tirelessly to raise him and his three brothers largely alone.

The school’s auditorium was packed for the ceremony with current and former police officials, including all of the department’s deputy commissioners and former commissioners Charles H. Ramsey and Richard Ross, who workedclosely with Bethel during his career. Other high-ranking law enforcement attendees included Acting Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy, Roosevelt Poplar, the new president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, and Adam N. Geer, who is set to serve as the city’s first chief public safety director.

Bethel takes over a department that has been battling a series of challenges in recent years, including staffing shortages, flagging morale, and an ongoing gun violence crisis in the city.

The force currently has about 5,500 members, nearly 20% below its budgeted staffing levels. And because of recruitment challenges that have hit police agencies nationwide — as well as a months-long application and training process for cadets and a slew of planned retirements — the issue is forecast to get worse before it gets better.

(Gov. Josh Shapiro last month signed a bill to relax reading and fitness requirements for Philadelphia recruits in an attempt to broaden the potential pool of applicants).

Officers who remain or have recently joined the force have been asked to address a gun violence crisis that, while easing off the unprecedented levels seen during the height of the pandemic, remains well above historical norms.

The city saw more than 400 homicides last year, for example, about 20% fewer than in 2022. But before the violence spike that began in 2020, the city had recorded 400 annual homicides only once in the previous two decades.

Bethel, 60, has not spoken in detail yet about his plans for the department. But he said Tuesday that he planned to use a mix of prevention, intervention, and enforcement tactics to drive down crime and end what Parker has frequently called a sense of “lawlessness” in the city. And although he did not offer specifics — or take questions afterward — he said he did not want issues like the long-standing open-air drug markets in Kensington to continue affecting children and residents who simply want a safe place to live.

“Let it be clear,” he said, “this ends today.”

Bethel, of Southwest Philadelphia, first joined the department in 1986, working as a beat cop in a district that covered parts of Chinatown, Center City, and Northern Liberties. He went on to work in units including narcotics and Internal Affairs, and, in 2005, was named captain of the 17th District in Southwest Philadelphia.

Three years later, when Ramsey took over the department, he plucked Bethel out of that role and moved him several rungs up the ladder to serve as a deputy commissioner. Ramsey, one of the most respected officials in modern American policing, later called that move “one of the best — if not the best — decisions I made as police commissioner here in Philadelphia.”

Still, when Ramsey retired in 2016, Bethel did, too. Ramsey was succeeded by another of his deputies — Ross — and Bethel decided to focus on a Stoneleigh Foundation fellowship he’d been awarded for work he’d started on the police force: Reducing the number of children being arrested by offering diversionary programs instead.

In 2019, Bethel was named the school district’s head of safety. He continued attempts to reform how law enforcement interacted with young people, in part by reshaping and rebranding the school police force, calling employees “school safety officers,” having them wear more casual uniforms, and asking them to focus on engaging and mentoring young people rather than seeking to arrest them.

After Parker won the Democratic primary in May, she began a months-long interview process for police commissioner in which she considered more than a half-dozen candidates — including John M. Stanford, who served as interim commissioner for the last few months under outgoing mayor Jim Kenney.

Parker said Bethel was “the most well-versed” in her public safety plan, and that he presented her with a series of his own ideas about how to enhance it. She also touted Bethel’s credentials as a forward-thinking leader with experience in bringing change to law enforcement — while still maintaining the respect of those on the force.

And although she said Tuesday that she didn’t know Bethel before her interviews for commissioner began, she quickly came to realize his talent and ability — even adding that some of the hope people were feeling amid Tuesday’s transition was likely tied to Bethel’s ascension to the top of the ranks.

“I have trust in Commissioner Bethel, and I know he can deliver for our city,” she said.

Bethel’s next chapter began without delay: As soon as his swearing-in ceremony was over, he and Parker made their way to City Hall. There, the new mayor signed an order declaring a public safety emergency and requiring Bethel and the office of Managing Director Adam Thiel to develop “comprehensive plans that address public safety across the city.”