Five days a week, volunteers<\/a> stop by schools. Off campus, they regularly canvass their community, chatting up young people at rec centers and on street corners, Budd said. It\u2019s a long-term approach designed to continue the city\u2019s historic streak of decreasing violent crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re prevention. We\u2019re engaging them where they are, building relationships and bringing resources to prevent them from even thinking about picking up a gun,\u201d said Budd. \u201cI don\u2019t think we can slow down, because you don\u2019t want the numbers to rise.\u201d<\/p>\n Philadelphians, from City Hall to the communities plagued by the most gun violence, concur that even on the heels of a 24.5 percent drop in shootings last year, anti-violence intervention and prevention work must not slow down. Many believe that the drop, which went beyond undoing a Covid-era spike in violence, can be explained by across-the-board collaboration among city government agencies \u2014 like the city Police Department and other law enforcement partners \u2014 and grassroots community organizations, like Men Who Care of Germantown.<\/p>\n Those on the frontlines of violence reduction interviewed by The Trace said that in addition to continued collaboration, key to driving down shootings this year will be keeping community organizations funded and working on stopping violence before it starts.<\/p>\n Their observations come amid the Trump\u2019s administration\u2019s decision<\/a> to freeze billions of dollars in grants to local governments and slash more than $800 million in funding to organizations working to combat violence, drug abuse, and other social ills.<\/p>\n \u201cWe definitely need a sustainability plan which means continuous and more funding. The organizations that are doing the work need to be able to sustain these programs,\u201d said Angenique Howard, executive director of Unique Dreams, which runs an evening resource center that attracts an average of 35 to 40 youth a day in the city\u2019s Frankford section. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to have it year-to-year. But we need some sort of concrete contract.\u201d<\/p>\n Fewer shots fired <\/p>\n Mayor Cherelle Parker has ramped up community policing since taking office in January 2024, city officials have noted, which means that more officers are walking beats from the troubled streets of Kensington to east Market Street in the heart of Center City. At the same time, the City spent $25 million last year to fund dozens of grassroots community groups\u2019 crime prevention initiatives.<\/p>\n Violent crime since then has dropped significantly. Philadelphia ended 2025 with 222 homicides, a 17.5 percent decline compared to 2024 and the fewest since 1966, according to the Philadelphia Police Department<\/a>. Philly saw 24.5 percent fewer shootings from 2024. There were 13.1 percent fewer shooting victims, 20.24 percent fewer robberies with guns, and 12.85 percent fewer aggravated assaults with guns.<\/p>\n So far, that trend is continuing into 2026. Through January 25, there were fewer homicides than at the same time last year. There were nine homicides, down from 13 at the same time last year. There had been 37 slayings on this date in 2021, the year the city recorded the most killings in its history, the data shows.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cOur motto is, Catch \u2018em before the streets catch \u2018em.\u201d \u2014 Joe Budd<\/p>\n While a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts<\/a> late last year lauded the city\u2019s progress, it also acknowledged that parts of Philadelphia remain persistently violent. An analysis<\/a> from The Trace\u2019s Gun Violence Data Hub reached the same conclusion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe greatest number of gun violence victimization occurred in North, West, and Southwest Philadelphia, areas which also have the lowest median household income, lowest quality of life indicators, and highest concentration of vacant land and buildings,\u201d the report from Pew Charitable Trusts said. \u201cSo, while homicides are down citywide, men of color and residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods continue to face an outsized risk of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n Budd said such realities drive his organization to foster relationships with young people.<\/p>\n \u201cOur motto is, Catch \u2018em before the streets catch \u2018em,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they\u2019re in our path we can follow them, conceivably, from third grade to college. Once we build those relationships we can change their mindsets about gun violence and about how to deal with any type of issues that come up surrounding violence and conflict resolution. Those are the types of things we try to do to keep them from picking up a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark Wainwright, founder and CEO of It Takes a Village to Feed One Child, said addressing basic human needs \u2014 including making sure young people in low-income, high-crime areas have enough to eat \u2014 is part of the solution. His nonprofit, which he founded in 2017, is funded by the federal and state government. It Takes a Village provided more than 250,000 meals a month at over 100 community centers last year. He projects that it will provide more than 350,000 meals a month at 150 centers this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen children have proper nutrition their motor skills are better, their social and development stills are better,\u201d Wainright said. \u201cThey are more positive in the community, and holistically, they want to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n Word of the year: Collaboration <\/p>\n During her State of the City address in late December, Parker seized on the Pew report\u2019s findings that the city had the largest drop in homicides compared to 20 other cities.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of this is happening by accident,\u201d Parker told an enthusiastic audience at Temple University. \u201cYes, we\u2019re laser-focused on our comprehensive public safety strategy. \u2026 But it\u2019s coupled with close and daily collaboration between our Philadelphia Police Department, our Office of Public Safety, and our community-based partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said in an interview that officers also recognize and appreciate community-driven work toward safety.<\/p>\n \u201cOrder maintenance is one of the biggest things that reduces crime. That\u2019s when the community keeps things in order, they make sure things are being done effectively. They make sure that the block is being kept safe,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes, we don\u2019t give the community enough credit.\u201d<\/p>\n
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