In 2021, as Philadelphia residents averaged nearly 11 homicides per week, residents feared for their lives, some likening the constant gunfire as the Wild Wild West. Now, the city just recorded an average of about four homicides each week, the lowest average since 1966.
“That’s 59 years, which is incredible,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told NBC10. “Absolutely incredible.”
In an interview with the NBC10 Investigators, Bethel detailed how the city accomplished this, , saying it was a process that started as life slowly returned to normal following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during that time that the police department began to map out a strategy…