Criminal Justice

Catherine Henry, a senior litigator in the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has been nominated by President Joe Biden to fill the vacancy left by the death of U.S. District Court Judge Edward Smith.

Gov. Josh Shapiro is poised to sign a bill that requires Pennsylvania State Police and many other law enforcement agencies to collect data on drivers pulled over during traffic stops, including their race or ethnicity.

Problems with theft in the mail collection bins outside the post office go back at least four years. Last year police warned folks to stop using the bins and deposit mail inside the post office. The bins remained open — and the stolen checks and mail have persisted.

Joshua Moser, 33, is being held without bail in Monroe County after he was arrested there for a parole violation, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.

Palmer Township police Officer John Smoke, the school resource officer at Easton Area High School, waived his preliminary hearing in Palmer Township on Friday.

Reporters Ryan Gaylor and Brittany Sweeney talk about a Bethlehem school resource officer arraigned on multiple sex crimes and a merger between LVHN and Jefferson University Hospital.

Rose Josephine Hnath, 78, was found dead in her North Whitehall Township home in January 1989. She had been repeatedly stabbed and beaten, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said.

The Allentown Police Department will replace or upgrade about 175 cameras across the city to provide high-definition surveillance footage, according to Chief Charles Roca.

Costas Alestas, a former Bethlehem police officer and soccer coach at East Hills Middle School, intends to plead not guilty to multiple sex-related crimes involving two middle school students, his attorney said.

A simulation led by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute showed local leaders the challenges people face with income, ID, employment and more after being released from prison.

A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court case is being called the first of its kind, challenging the fate of inmates serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Concerned residents held a vigil outside the Lehigh County Jail in Allentown over the weekend with signs and candles to remember an inmate and correctional officer who recently died from COVID-19 and to raise awareness of what they say are dangerous conditions inside.

Lehigh Valley community members say the situation inside the Lehigh County Jail is bleak. Activists say COVID-19 conditions are causing harm to inmates and employees. And they plan to make their voices heard this weekend.

State courts told correctional institutions last year to reduce the number of inmates to help fight the spread of COVID-19 inside.

At a public forum with several Lehigh County Commissioners on Jan. 28, they called their working conditions “life-threatening.”

Lehigh County’s fiscal watchdog is advocating for bail reform.

A Harrisburg woman charged in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has been released from custody with restrictions.

A retired Pennsylvania firefighter has been arrested on suspicion of throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers during the siege at the U.S. Capitol.

A yearlong study conducted by the state Department of Aging, found seniors are conned out of ten million dollars a year in Pennsylvania. And as WLVR’s Megan Frank reports, in many cases the scams come from people they know.

Allentown officials are in the process of creating a public safety review board. The goal is to have a body of citizens look into police matters and make reform recommendations.

As Allentown officials discussed what the future of policing may look like in the city Wednesday night, many people gathered outside council chambers - which were closed to the public.

Allentown City Council met last night to discuss a resolution designed to reform police practices.