Philadelphia homicide rate drops to lowest point in over a decade
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The homicide rate in Philadelphia is at the lowest point since 2013.
On Thursday night, a man in his 30s was shot and killed in the Frankford section of the city, marking the first homicide in five days.
Philadelphia has seen 214 homicides so far in 2024, compared to 358 this time last year. That's a 40% drop, experts say.
It's the lowest rate since 2013 when the city saw 208 homicides by this time of the year.
"It may be going down, but for some of the folks in our community, that number really doesn't mean anything," said the Public Safety Director for Philadelphia Adam Geer.
Geer said there is still work to do to bring the rate down even more. It's something Mayor Cherelle Parker agrees with.
"We need to continue pressing forward with our comprehensive approach, which is prevention, intervention, and enforcement," Parker said.
She believes the three-pronged approach is the reason for the drop. It's part of the Gun Violence Intervention Program.
The group identifies people who are at risk of being involved in violence and gets them help. That includes job placement and mental health treatment.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel spoke at an event on Friday that helped launch a new initiative to focus on early intervention with young people.
He said the community-led effort, along with good police work, is seeing results.
"We cannot do this work ourselves," Bethel said. "You cannot solve the issues standing and looking down into the well, you got to get in the well, and get to work."
The overall violent crime rate is also down 9% in Philadelphia compared to this time last year.
