By Joanna Putman
Police1
PHILADELPHIA — Chief of School Safety Kevin Bethel is expected to be named the next Philadelphia Police Commissioner, WPVI reported.
Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker is expected to make a formal announcement Nov. 22 at 10 a.m.
School District of Philadelphia Chief Safety Officer Kevin Bethel speaks with reporters on the scene of a shooting on Pechin Street behind Roxborough High School in Philadelphia in September 2022. (Monica Herndon)
Bethel has served as the Chief of School Safety for four years. He served in the Philadelphia Police Department for 29 years, eight of them as Deputy Police Commissioner of Patrol Operations, according to the report.
As the school safety chief, Bethel worked to create a diversion program to keep students out of gang-related activity and the juvenile justice system.
This is the first major leadership decision for Parker, who made public safety one of her top priorities while campaigning, according to the report.
