Cherisse Pearson stands near a portrait of her son, Theodore "Tre" Crawford, near a tree planted his memory. Crawford was shot and killed in 2022, and his killing is one of many solved this year. Read more William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer

by Ellie Rushing and Dylan Purcell Published Oct. 16, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET

Philadelphia police are solving homicides at the highest rate in recent memory, arresting suspected killers at a pace not seen since the early 1980s as violence in the city plummets to near-historic lows and as the technology used to solve crimes improves.

The homicide clearance rate this year has hovered between 86% and 91% — the highest since 1984, when the department recorded a 95% clearance rate.

The change is a dramatic shift from just a few years ago, w

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