Philadelphia experienced a significant decrease in shootings in 2024, prompting community leaders to reflect on the contributing factors and strategies for sustained progress.
What community leaders think led to Philly’s drop in shootings, and what’s needed to sustain it long-term. From expanded job opportunities for young people to a shift in the drug market, five community leaders share what they saw change in the city's crime this year.\Members of Changing Lives for Christ Church in Kensington gather for Sunday service. The church has worked to help community members who struggle with literacy to apply for jobs.
\After years of record-breaking violence amid the pandemic, Philadelphia in 2024 saw a historic reduction in homicides and shootings. The reasons behind the decline are not entirely clear, but some law enforcement officials and criminologists have pointed to a few theories: post-pandemic stability, the return and expansion of community programs, and an uptick in arrests for violent offenders.\Here are reflections from five community leaders on changes in the city’s crime trends last year, which interventions they believe have worked, and what more needs to be done to reduce violence long term.\Kendra Van de Water, cofounder of YEAH Philly, a West Philly-based violence-reduction program for young people in the criminal justice system, said there seem to be fewer conflicts in the neighborhood. She and her colleagues used to receive many calls each week to mediate beefs, but they’re seeing less of a need — in part, she said, because so many street group members have been killed or arrested in recent years. Their conflicts essentially burned out.\At the same time, she said, job and housing opportunities for young people expanded in recent years, and grassroots organizations have evolved in their work. Previously, she said, YEAH, which launched in 2018, paired teens with local businesses for work experience — which had its benefits but also challenges, as teens struggled to coordinate transit and stay engage
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