Bethel to leave Philly PD for fellowship

DEPUTY POLICE Commissioner Kevin Bethel yesterday was named a Diana A. Millner Youth Justice Fellow by the Stoneleigh Foundation, a post that will require him to spend the next three years addressing Philadelphia’s school-to-prison pipeline.

Bethel, who earlier this year was described by some police insiders as a possible candidate to replace retiring Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, will instead retire from the force in January.

The Stoneleigh Foundation, in a news release yesterday announcing the fellowship, said Bethel, 52, will focus on expanding a successful pre-arrest diversion program in the School District of Philadelphia. The program is aimed at students who get in trouble for small-time offenses on school grounds, but don't have existing juvenile records. Instead of facing arrest, the students are allowed to enter the diversion program instead.

The program, which started in May 2014, has already shown some success. The number of student arrests dropped by 54 percent during its first year, and there were more than 1,000 fewer behavior incidents at Philly schools during that same time, according to the foundation.

As part of the fellowship, Bethel will be expected to expand the diversionary program beyond students and include other youths who are first-time offenders for small crimes, like theft. The fellowship will be based out of the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab within the Department of Psychology at Drexel University.

"As a law-enforcement officer, it has always saddened me to see young people get in trouble with the law, especially when early intervention at critical points can lead to a more productive path," said Bethel, who has spent nearly 29 years on the police force.

"The Police Department's youth diversion program and the broader juvenile-justice work we'll do through the Stoneleigh Fellowship will help fulfill our responsibility to provide young people with strong pathways to the future."

On Twitter: @dgambacorta