Philadelphia Police Department Releases New Roadmap for Public Safety
Five-year plan invests in violence intervention, victim support and department modernization
The Philadelphia Police Department has released its first Five-Year Strategic Plan (2026-2031), a roadmap for how the department will operate over the next five years.
The plan arrives at a hopeful moment. As of December 2025, Philadelphia’s homicide rate is the lowest it has been since the 1960s, and the shooting rate is the lowest in decades. City leaders point to the mayor’s “PIE” model, Prevention, Intervention and Enforcement, as a driver of that progress, and the new plan builds on it with strategies that reach across the department’s work.
Broad by design, the plan is organized around priority areas that cover community trust, safe neighborhoods, workforce investment, internal culture and organizational innovation. The plan invests heavily in modernization, replacing paper-based systems with digital platforms, expanding electronic records, and piloting AI-assisted technology for faster report taking. These updates aim to free up officers for proactive, community-facing intervention work. Additionally, a new CompStat 2.0 system will track quality-of-life measures and community trust alongside crime statistics to provide a fuller picture of public safety.
Several key commitments focused on intervention stand out:
- The department will sustain Operation Pinpoint, its data-driven approach to deploying resources where shootings are most likely to occur.
- It is also investing in a new Forensic Science Center and expanded ballistics and digital evidence capacity, tools that help ensure shooting cases are cleared and shooters held accountable.
- A new Office of Victim Advocacy will expand trauma-informed support for those touched by violence, with an explicit goal of helping break cycles of retaliation.
The plan also invests in the workforce through career pathways, mentorship, and a Leadership Academy to build a stable, better-trained department. Expanded recruitment partnerships with schools and community groups aim to ensure the force reflects the neighborhoods it serves. Additionally, it prioritizes officer wellness with an early-warning system and post-critical-incident support.
Shaped by an eight-month process with over 200 contributors, the plan incorporates input from department employees, city officials, and community advocates. Priorities were derived from 20 listening sessions, 2,500+ survey responses, and six advisory groups representing diverse city stakeholders. The Civic Coalition to Save Lives funded the plan’s development, together with the Philadelphia Police Foundation.
For the Coalition, this plan is a signal that intervention work, victim support and data-driven accountability are becoming embedded in how Philadelphia’s police department does business, not as an afterthought, but as part of its core strategy for the next five years. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the department as this plan moves into action.
Pew, Penn Crime and Justice Policy Lab Convene Cities to Evaluate and Sustain Gun Violence Reduction
Four city executives emphasized the leadership, coordination, and focus required for violence reduction to thrive.
Public safety leaders from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Oakland, California, gathered in Philadelphia and Baltimore in May to share what works in reducing violence and keeping those gains over time. The Pew Charitable Trusts and the University of Pennsylvania’s Crime and Justice Policy Lab organized the exchange, selecting cities committed not just to evidence-based programs, but to the governance and management practices that turn those programs into a citywide strategy. That shared framework, built around political leadership, data-driven analysis, cross-sector coordination and long-term sustainability, let participants quickly compare notes across very different local contexts.
Several themes emerged repeatedly. Leaders agreed that sustained progress depends on mayors and agency heads who set clear expectations and defend them publicly. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel pointed to Mayor Cherelle Parker’s early direction, including four executive orders, as central to keeping the department accountable.
Rigorous problem analysis also proved a turning point for several cities. In Baltimore, that process showed the highest-risk population was older and more entrenched in violence than the prevailing narrative assumed, prompting what special adviser Jeremy Biddle called a “pretty rigorous system change.”
Oakland officials stressed staying relentlessly focused on the highest-risk people and places. Dr. Holly Joshi, director of the city’s Department of Violence Prevention, urged other cities to remain “unapologetically focused,” investing consistent attention and resources in that priority population over time.
Indianapolis highlighted coordination between law enforcement and community organizations. Deputy Director of Public Safety Tony Lopez described Indy Peace, a partnership with a nonprofit foundation that works alongside police to identify and engage high-risk individuals.
Baltimore Police Col. Robert Velte said narrowing enforcement to the small number of people most actively driving violence, rather than broad policing, has helped build trust and legitimacy with community partners.
Pew, the CJP Lab and the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform will continue providing technical assistance to all four cities as they apply lessons from the exchange and sustain their progress.
Read the full Pew article on the convenings here.
Progress is Real. So Is The Risk.
Philadelphia defied decades of July 4 violence trends, proving that sustained, evidence-based strategies work and why we cannot pull back now.
The first week of July has historically been among Philadelphia’s most violent stretches of the year. This year, even as the city welcomed hundreds of thousands of additional visitors for Semiquincentennial celebrations and FIFA World Cup matches, shootings during that same week were roughly half the 10-year average, police data show.
Holding that line while hosting crowds on that scale is a remarkable result, and it fits a broader trend: the city’s homicide count continues to run well below where it stood just a few years ago, putting Philadelphia on track for its lowest annual total in more than half a century, according to city police data reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel credited two years of coordinated planning among city, state and federal agencies, along with a stronger homicide clearance rate, which has climbed to nearly 99% from about 47% in 2022.
But the same reporting was a reminder that progress is not evenly felt. Three men were killed in the city during that same holiday stretch, and more than a dozen people, including a 16-year-old, were shot and survived. Residents in neighborhoods with a long history of gun violence say the citywide numbers can feel distant from daily life.
That is exactly the point the Civic Coalition to Save Lives keeps making. Fewer shootings and homicides are real, welcome progress, built on evidence-based intervention, investment and sustained attention. But the numbers do not stay down on their own. If we ease off now, on funding, on programs, on the strategies that got us here, we risk losing ground. The work is not finished.
“Philadelphia has shown what’s possible when government, community organizations, philanthropy, healthcare, law enforcement and residents work toward a shared goal,” said Pedro Ramos, co-chair of the Steering Committee of the Civic Coalition to Save Lives.
“The historic reductions in gun violence we’ve seen are the result of intentional collaboration and sustained investment. Our responsibility now is to build on that progress so every neighborhood continues to become safer and stronger.”
The Future of Olmstead: Estelle Richman’s Warnings
A narrower federal interpretation of the landmark disability ruling threatens a wider range of vulnerable populations
Estelle Richman knows what it looks like when disabled people move out of institutions and into their own communities. As former regional director for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, she oversaw the closure of Philadelphia State Hospital, a record that led congressional organizers to invite her testimony. Richman, also former executive director of the Civic Coalition to Save Lives, spoke at a briefing hosted by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and attended by staff from more than 25 congressional offices.
Her message: federal support for the 1999 Supreme Court ruling in Olmstead v. L.C., which requires states to serve people with disabilities in their communities rather than in institutions, appears to be eroding. For 25 years, she said, states received guidance to help them comply. Now, the signals suggest compliance has become optional.
That shift matters most immediately for people with disabilities, a group that includes a growing number of Americans disabled by gun violence. Shootings disable tens of thousands of people each year, and more than 200 Americans seek emergency care for gunshot wounds every day, according to Johns Hopkins’ Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
Richman argued Olmstead’s core principle, that people succeed in the community when given the right support, reaches even further. Although the decision did not specifically contemplate individuals transitioning out of incarceration, she argued that the underlying principles are equally relevant to their situation.
“They can achieve successful community integration when provided with basic, essential supports,” Richman said.
A narrower reading of Olmstead, advocates warn, would restrict the supports that all these groups need to remain independent. Cutting investment in community housing and case management could push people back into institutions, prisons or homelessness.
EMIR Healing Center Opens Germantown Avenue Location With Men’s Wellness Event, Community Open House
EMIR Healing Center celebrated the grand opening of its new satellite office at 2850 Germantown Avenue on July 17, expanding its commitment to providing healing-centered services for Philadelphia residents.
The Men’s Wellness Event & Community Open House gathered neighbors for a day focused on health, connection, and opportunity. Guests toured the facility, accessed health resources, connected with organizations, and discussed strengthening the well-being of men and boys.
This new location enhances EMIR’s ability to offer trauma-informed support, providing a welcoming space for individuals and families to access resources and begin healing. It features dedicated programming to help men and boys build healthier minds and brighter futures.
By offering accessible healing and support, EMIR strengthens families and neighborhoods while addressing the root causes of violence.
Congratulations to the EMIR team on this new chapter of growing healing, hope, and community!
ICYMI
News Roundup: Spotlight on Intervention
Each month, we feature news stories from Philadelphia and beyond that highlight the power of intervention—showcasing programs, research, and community efforts working to prevent violence, support those at highest risk, and build safer neighborhoods through proven, people-centered strategies.
