The Brief Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel joined Good Day Philadelphia to discuss improved homicide and violent crime numbers. Homicides in Philadelphia have dropped 24% to date, and overall violent crimes have fallen by 4%. The number of homicides in Philadelphia has taken a meaningful drop more than halfway through the year. That figure represents a 24% drop from the number of homicides in Philadelphia at this time last year of 135, data shows. Started in Lower Merion in 1984, National Night Out is designed to bridge the gap between police and the communities they serve.