Violent crime has declined or remained flat in much of the Local’s coverage area during the six-month period from Jan. 1 to July 1., while property crimes have varied by neighborhood, according to 2025-26 data from Philadelphia’s 14th and 5th police districts.

In the Chestnut Hill (19118) and Mt. Airy (19119) sections of the 14th District, robbery and aggravated assault decreased by 33.3% and 30%, respectively. But burglary increased by 25%, theft by 5.3% and vehicle theft by 16.8%. There also was one rape in Chestnut Hill and one in Mt. Airy.

In the 5th District, which includes Manayunk (19127) and Roxborough (19128), robbery, burglary, theft, and vehicle theft all declined, while aggravated assault increased by 33.3%. The rape statistic matched last year’s.

Despite increases in some property crimes, 14th District Police Capt. Stuart McCoullum said the district’s overall crime levels remain “within the same ballpark” as previous years and follow the district’s record-low crime levels in 2024.

In an interview with the Local, McCoullum, who took command in 2024, said he has instituted strategies to help reduce crime, including improved communications with the public. The district holds four or five community meetings a month and encourages residents to report concerns by phone, email or text. He said the goal is to identify problems before they escalate, rather than responding after a crime has already occurred. This year, he also instituted a community outreach team that offers resources to crime victims.

“A lot of our strategies are dependent on community engagement and cooperating with us,” he said. “We’re establishing and building trust with the community, and they trust us because our communication has never been this high and consistent.”

McCoullum said residents have increasingly shared home security camera footage and reported suspicious activity, such as people checking car doors or attempting break-ins. Those reports help investigators identify crime patterns and, in many cases, solve crimes, he said.

“I can’t tell you how many crimes were solved based off of people allowing us to see their Ring cameras,” McCoullum said. “That’s been a tremendous help.”

While violent crime has continued to decrease, thefts are up in the 14th. This increase, said McCoullum, includes thefts from motor vehicles, which have spiked so far this year. One hotspot is around the Valley Green area.

“People continue to break into vehicles because they know people leave things in there: firearms, phones, laptops, money, anything that is visible,” said McCoullum. He said residents should avoid leaving valuables in their vehicles, and that police are making headway with those crimes.

“We just made an arrest this weekend,” he said. “We identified quite a few prolific offenders. These are individuals who have been arrested on numerous occasions for those specific crimes in and around those areas, and now they’re out of jail. When my analysts come in and look for recent releases, we’ll see that this guy got out around this time, and days later, crime spikes in an area that he used to be in. That tells us he’s operating again.”

Police also have focused on retail theft, or shoplifting, another common property crime. McCoullum said many cases involve prolific offenders who target similar businesses.

To combat shoplifting, retail theft-specific officers communicate with business owners, managers and employees. Certain stores, like Wawa, CVS, and Family Dollar, get targeted the most, he said.

“We’ve made numerous arrests, but it’s not an issue you can arrest your way out of,” he added. “It’s a culture we’re trying to eliminate.”

In Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy, vehicle theft has increased even more sharply, rising 16.8%.

“Stolen autos, unfortunately, are so easy these days,” said McCoullum. “They’ve been using a key fob reader. So they can pull up next to your car, look at your vehicle identification number, program a blank key fob, and it usually takes about a minute and a half tops to drive off with your car.”

Among the top targeted car brands are Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Jeep, Ford and Infiniti, according to police reports.

McCoullum said efforts have continued despite an unusually busy summer for Philadelphia police. The FIFA World Cup, Semiquincentennial celebrations, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and other events required officers throughout the city, reducing neighborhood staffing.

Even so, McCoullum remains optimistic for the second half of the year.

“We’re still on pace to have our third year in a row of historical reductions of violent crime and property crime,” he said. “One crime is one too many, but we have to be realistic.”

More details on crime statistics and police/community meetings are here, phillypolice.com/districts/14th-district and here, phillypolice.com/districts/5th-district.