Philadelphia’s homicide rate drops to its lowest point in over a decade

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Philadelphia’s homicide rate is at its lowest point since 2013.

On Thursday evening, a 30-year-old man was shot and killed in Frankford Ward of the city, marking the first homicide in five days.

Philadelphia has recorded 214 homicides so far in 2024, compared to 358 at this time last year. That’s a 40 percent drop, experts say.

It’s the lowest rate since 2013, when the city had 208 homicides so far this year.

“It may be going down, but for some of the people in our community, that number really doesn’t mean anything,” said Adam Geer, director of Public Safety for Philadelphia.

Geer said there is still work to do to lower the rate further. It’s something Mayor Cherelle Parker agrees with.

“We need to continue to push forward with our comprehensive approach, which is prevention, intervention and enforcement,” Parker said.

She believes the three-pronged approach is the reason for the dropout. It is part of the Gun Violence Intervention Program.

The group identifies people at risk of being involved in violence and gets them help. This includes job placement and mental health treatment.

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel spoke at an event Friday to help launch a new initiative to focus on early intervention for young people.

He said the community-led effort, along with good police work, is paying off.

“We cannot do this work alone,” Bethel said. “You can’t solve problems by standing and looking down the well, you have to get into the well and get down to business.”

The overall violent crime rate is also down 9 percent in Philadelphia compared to this time last year.