Streets of Philadelphia, Kensington Avenue â€œHighlightâ€ For the month of August.

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Published on Sep 8, 2021
Most dangerous street in Philadelphia

Kensington Philadelphia Drug & Crime Problems

Violent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a whole is a major problem. The cityâ€™s violent crime rate is higher than the national average and other similarly sized metropolitan areas.1 Also alarming is Philadelphiaâ€™s drug overdose rate. The number of drug overdose deaths in the city increased by 50% from 2013 to 2015, with more than twice as many deaths from drug overdoses as deaths from homicides in 2015.2 A big part of Philadelphiaâ€™s problems stem from the crime rate and drug abuse in Kensington.

Because of the high number of drugs in Kensington, the neighborhood has a drug crime rate of 3.57, the third-highest rate by neighborhood in Philadelphia.3 Like a lot of the country, a big part of this issue is a result of the opioid epidemic. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed over the last two decades in the United States and Philadelphia is no exception. Along with having a high rate of drug overdose deaths, 80% percent of Philadelphiaâ€™s overdose deaths involved opioids2 and Kensington is a big contributor to this number. This Philly neighborhood is purportedly the largest open-air narcotics market for heroin on the East Coast with many neighboring residents flocking to the area for heroin and other opioids.4 With such a high number of drugs in Kensington, many state and local officials have zoned in on this area to try and tackle Philadelphiaâ€™s problem.