New public safety plan details how police will address gun violence, retail theft, and Kensington’s crises

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel on Thursday unveiled a sprawling plan detailing how his administration will tackle some of the city’s longest-standing issues: gun violence, drug use, and quality-of-life crimes.

Inside Russell Conwell Middle School in Kensington, a neighborhood where residents have experienced more violence and trauma than arguably any other in the city in recent years, Bethel said he was committed to not only setting lofty goals, but also laying a detailed foundation for them to be accomplished — even with an understaffed police force.

“This is about getting the work done,” Bethel told the crowded auditorium of city employees and leaders.

The 53-page report, prepared by Bethel and his executive team over the last 100 days in response to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s executive order, comes as overall violent crime in the city continues to decline. It outlines the department’s strategies to tackle what Parker has long identified as her top priorities while in office: getting guns off the streets, shutting down open-air drug markets, and treating property crimes with just as much importance as violent ones.

» READ MORE: How Kensington, growing pains, and unexpected crises defined Mayor Parker’s first 100 days

Most notably, the department laid out its plan for Kensington — though there is still no timeline on when police might begin their “enforcement phase,” arresting people for drug crimes and forcing the hundreds living on the streets to leave the area. Where users will go, and how the city will accommodate a population with such complex physical and mental health needs, remains unclear.

“This is one of the most unique situations in America,” Bethel said. Setting a specific timeline or deadline for clearing the area would only hamstring officers and pressure officials to rush to fix a very complex issue, he said.

“We will not be rushed by anyone,” he said. Still, he said, residents will start to see “an immediate difference.”

Here are five takeaways from the public safety plan:

Bethel’s plan listed lofty goals on reducing violent crime, including that the department aims to cut the rate of shootings in half by 2025.

The plan says that in 2024, homicides will drop by 20%, back to pre-pandemic levels, meaning the city will not exceed 328 killings or 1,328 shooting victims for the year. Then, by the following year, the administration aims to see violence drop by an additional 25%, down to numbers not seen in more than a decade.

Bethel acknowledged that he will have to execute this plan with about 1,000 fewer officers on the force, as the department continues to struggle to recruit and fill vacant positions. But, he said, he believes it’s possible with the right approach.

The plan comes as violence across the city has declined overall, returning to pre-pandemic levels. So far this year, 77 people have been killed in homicides, the vast majority by guns, a 34% reduction compared with the same time last year. Shootings overall are down 40% compared with the same time in 2023, according to police data. Gunpoint robbery has also dropped by 35%, and rape by 26%.

To see a continued decline, Bethel’s plan says that the department will be deliberate in deploying police, and that staff and investigative resources will be especially focused around the 10 police districts and intersections that have seen about 78% of the shootings in the city. The plan says the department will create mobile “surge teams” to send an influx of officers to hot spots on the weekends.

Those intersections, among others, include multiblock radiuses surrounding:

The department is also expanding its forensics capabilities, and has hired a new team that it says will process ballistics evidence more quickly. The goal is to see a crime gun processed within 48 hours of being recovered, instead of the current pace of more than two weeks, according to the plan.

Retail theft continues to be a challenge. Police data show that reports are up by about 30% so far this year, with more than 5,200 incidents.

According to the plan, 15% of all retail theft in the city occurs at 10 addresses and shopping centers. Police will target enforcement to those areas, and, using a “list of prolific offenders,” hope to cut the rate of retail theft in half.

The police department will expand its ATV enforcement detail to cover more days of the week, aside from mostly weekends in the summer months, according to the report.

Officers are monitoring popular gathering locations and social media chatter about meet-ups. The department is also looking to train officers how to deploy “slow tire deflation equipment,” or spike strips, on ATVs and dirt bikes. Through partnerships with state and federal agencies, the plan says officials are looking into whether they can charge suspects with conspiracy, and even go after people in the groups who are not directly participating in the rides.

The most far-reaching initiative centers on shutting down Kensington’s open-air drug market — a billion-dollar heroin industry that has resulted in hundreds of people in addiction living on the streets, experiencing complex physical and mental health crises tied to a toxic drug supply. Dozens of corners in the neighborhood are occupied by dealers raking in thousands of dollars a day, and the area has some of the highest rates of violence in the city.

Police laid out a five-phase plan on addressing the issues, though Bethel declined to say when he expected each stage to be accomplished.

“I do not want to put a timeline on that, but we are going to be moving effectively,” he said. “We have children being impacted every day, communities being impacted every day.”

“I want to manage expectations,” he said. “It will not get resolved in the first month.”

First, police will warn people living on the streets or committing crimes of their plans to ramp up enforcement in the area. Then, officers will begin clearing the streets and making arrests.

During the enforcement phase, police will first focus on the areas from E Street to Jasper Street, and Tioga Street to Indiana Avenue — making arrests for drug and quality-of-life crimes and “removing” drug users from the area.

“This will be a multiday initiative that will include arrests for narcotics, prostitution, quality-of-life crimes and other criminal acts,” according to the plan. Once that initial corridor is cleared and secured, police will expand into surrounding blocks.

Bethel said people in addiction will be provided resources for recovery and sobriety, but that they will no longer be permitted to live on the street and openly use drugs.

Once the area is cleared and stabilized, it will be deep cleaned, and eventually, “barricades or bike racks will be employed” to keep sidewalks and business corridors cleared. Eventually, the blocks will be “handed back” to the community.

“This is a systemic problem and we’re going to be down here for a while, bringing order back to this community,” Bethel said.