PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In 2026, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel wants to continue to chip away at property crimes and gun violence, expand the department’s drone program, and focus on the city’s public safety plan, which will be announced later this month.
Homicides and shootings are at a record low. There were 222 homicides in Philadelphia in 2025. The last time the city had fewer than 230 homicide victims was 1966. However, the city has only seen slight reductions in property and violent crimes.
“Those are the crimes that really impact our community — thefts and retail thefts and stolen autos and burglaries and robberies,” said Bethel. “So it’s really, really important for us to really continue to focus on those offenses.”
Bethel also wants to grow the department’s drone program — which is already in four districts — to help with investigations and barricades.
“In those critical situations where we may have to use deadly force, we may be [able to] avoid that because an officer with the drone will already be on location, being able to share what they're seeing, and the officer is not walking into a critical situation,” he explained.
Additionally, Bethel plans to expand the department’s victims advocacy program to include not only the Homicide Unit but also the Shooting Investigation Group and the Crash Investigation Division, which handles fatal car crashes.
“That’s how we build trust with the community,” he added.
The department will also upgrade its records system.
“We’re still writing pen to paper,” said Bethel. “Hopefully in the next six months, we will have a records management system that will allow our men and women to do reports using their cellphones or using their mobile data terminals inside their cars.”
Within the next few weeks, Mayor Cherelle Parker will announce a strategic public safety plan that will call for more police training — a repeated request from both community stakeholders and officers. Bethel said that includes virtual reality training, social and emotional intelligence guidance, and de-escalation tactics.
Even with these new efforts, Bethel said violent crimes, like shootings and homicides, and property crimes, like burglaries and retail and car thefts, are his main focus.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” he said.