Philly Police commish, school officials discuss gun violence among the city's youth

Philadelphia's new police commissioner, Kevin Bethel, joined his former co-workers at the Philadelphia School District and the nonprofit, Stoneleigh Foundation -- where Bethel previously served as a fellow -- for a discussion on youth gun violence on Tuesday.

And, for his part, Bethel told the panel that he's excited to learn more about an ongoing, three-part study the foundation is undertaking that is focused on the causes of -- and ways to prevent -- gun violence among the city's youth.

"I'm waiting with bated breath for everything that comes from this," Bethel said.

In a panel discussion that featured representatives from the School District of Philadelphia, along with Brandy Blasko --a fellow with Stoneleigh in the School District of Philadelphia's Office of School Safety, who is conducting this research -- Bethel said he believes the research will, for example, help him find the most effective ways to deploy officers in order to protect the city's youth.

"The department benefits, but the city and our children, I think, benefit the most out of this," he said.

In presenting some of her findings, Blasko said she could share only part of her ongoing project looking at the impact of gun violence on the city's youth.

But, she said, typically, about one third of victims of gun violence in Philadelphia are school aged youth.

The initial information that Blasko shared from her ongoing project was focused on finding, what she called, "educational drivers of gun violence victimization" among students in the city's school district and she is looking for ways to identify when students are at highest risk of gun violence.

"There's little understanding about how individual level education variables specifically can serve as either protective or risk factors," she said.

She displayed some details, showing that the month of May, Mondays and the first two hours after school dismissal are when most shootings involving students can happen.

And, the study has found that more than 50% of shootings happen in or near North Philadelphia communities.

Bethel said that, next week, he's planning to deliver a 100-day plan, that will include ways that he hopes to help prevent future incidents of gun violence involving the city's youth from happening.