PHILADELPHIA — Beginning in 2026, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel will roll out a five-year strategic plan aimed at transforming the 5,000-member department away from a longstanding paramilitary culture and toward what he calls a service-oriented model of policing, WHYY reported.
“It is a great model to be able to move men and women, but it also retards thinking outside of the box,” Bethel said, referring to the traditional structure common in U.S. police departments.
| WEBINAR: What every agency needs to know as their DFR program evolves
One of the first steps in this transformation will be the launch of a new academic partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, according to the report. With support from a $2.55 million grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation, 15 senior leaders in the department will be selected to earn a tuition-free master’s degree in criminology. They’ll be followed by two additional cohorts of 30 officers each.
The Master of Applied Criminology and Police Leadership degree, designed by Penn’s Criminology Department, is intended to foster critical thinking, leadership development and evidence-based decision-making. Officers selected for the program were chosen through a competitive process that included submitting résumés and personal essays.
“Part of the training is set up around criminology and police leadership,” Bethel explained. “The men and women of the department are getting very good at being data-focused and using data to drive decision-making and deployment. The next step is developing them as leaders.”
He added that the program will enhance participants’ ability to think critically and apply research to community-based policing.
Joe Neubauer, chairman of the Neubauer Family Foundation, said the initiative addresses a major gap in the profession.
“Recognizing the absence of a focused graduate education program for senior policing personnel in the U.S., we believe this first-of-its-kind MCPL program will equip executives with the advanced tools needed to address critical challenges in public safety, recruitment, retention and public trust,” he said in a statement.
Philadelphia isn’t alone in embracing new leadership training. Five of the city’s senior officers have also participated in the Policing Leadership Academy, launched by the University of Chicago Crime Lab in 2023, according to the report. That five-month program brings together commanders from some of the nation’s most violent districts and trains them in community trust-building, strategic leadership, and data-driven management.
One graduate of the Chicago academy, Capt. Joseph Green of the 12th Police District, used his capstone project to promote deeper community engagement. Over the course of a year, his officers recorded 14,000 community contacts, from school visits to conversations with local businesses. The results were notable: a reduction in homicides, shootings and traffic stops.
The Penn program follows a similar model, offering a hybrid format of monthly in-person sessions and weekly online coursework, allowing officers to continue working while earning their degree in under two years. Like the Chicago academy, the Penn course will require a capstone project designed to address a real-world challenge in the officer’s department, according to the report.
Bethel, who serves on the advisory board of the Policing Leadership Academy, said the insights and training from both programs will directly feed into his department’s five-year strategy. With 45 officers expected to complete the Penn program, he believes the impact will be felt department-wide.
“This is a large organization that should be run more efficiently like a business, with everyone having a seat at the table,” Bethel said.
