Police plan to address drugs and violence in ‘phase 2' of Kensington clean up

Philadelphia police officials, on Monday, shared how they hope to undertake the second phase of a plan that will see more police officers patrol Kensington in an effort to clean up and improve the neighborhood.

Under what officials are calling "the enforcement phase" of the plan, Philadelphia police will target drug dealers, conduct warrant sweeps and crack down on prostitution as well as other quality of life crimes.

On Monday afternoon, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said that the community in Kensington has been plagued by some of the highest levels of gun violence and drug activity that they see in the city.

And, with this new phase, not only are city officials going to address these issues, Bethel said, they intend to give "hope back to a community that has kind of lost hope."

"We are going down there and start to address what has been manifested from the issues down there, the level of open air drugs, the violence that occurs there and, all the things that have kept that community, pretty much imprisoned for a long time," he said.

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To do this, he said, police plan to provide more foot beats in the community -- which, he called an "effective strategy" to deal with issues in that area -- and focus on addressing open-air drug sales as well as violence.

"The next phase of our work is really getting there to address the drug activity that is occurring there and the violence that is occurring in that community," Ramsey said.

Already, he said, some of their efforts are working.

Last month, city workers and police cleared an encampment of about 75 people living in tents along the sidewalk of Kensington Avenue as part of the improvement plan. Since then, he said, the city's police force have worked regularly to get people struggling with addiction to services they need.

"Those efforts have continued and been very successful," he said.

And, he said, helping connect people in need to services "will always be" part of police efforts to improve the community.

"There are people there doing nothing illegal," he said. "Being unsheltered is not illegal."

The ongoing push to clean up Kensington

Since her first day in office, Mayor Cherelle Parker has made Kensington a focus for her administration. City councilmembers also created a caucus aimed at improving the neighborhood.

Earlier this year, city council passed an 11 p.m. curfew for Kensington businesses that are not licensed to be open for 24 hours.

Mayor Parker’s budget – which was approved by city council on Thursday, June 6 -- also dedicated $100 million for triage facilities where drug users taken off the streets can receive treatment.

However, as reported by NBC10 newsgathering partner KYW Newsradio, Parker has also called for an end to using city funds in order to operate needle exchange programs.

The Kensington Planning Process -- a collaborative of residents, organizations, and civic groups – is also working on a plan to use millions in opioid settlement funds to improve the community.

All of these efforts, Bethel said, he hopes will support the police department's efforts as they step into the next phase of the clean up effort.

However, just how long this phase might last, Bethel said, there is no timetable.

"There is no playbook, so we humble ourselves knowing that we go into this operation being very fluid and very nimble," he said. "We will flex as we need it. If I need to add additional personnel in there, we will. As we go through this process, working with the community, the ultimate goal is to hand this off to the community. But, we will never abandon them until we get to that place."