Criminal Justice

Pennsylvania State Police have rolled out 15 RapidHIT ID systems to troops across the commonwealth. The machines are capable of analyzing forensic samples and generating DNA profiles in as little as 90 minutes.

Palmer Township police officer John Smoke faces up to five years in prison. Authorities accused him of sending the photo to a 16-year-old while he was assigned to Easton Area High School as a resource officer.

Police have charged an Easton man in connection with a recent chop shop investigation. Angel Vidal faces several felony and misdemeanor charges as he awaits a preliminary hearing in Northampton County Prison.

Incidents in the dashboard date only to the start of 2024, which Mayor Matt Tuerk and Police Chief Charles Roca have touted as having historically low crime and homicide rates.

Police are seeking witnesses to a hit-and-run crash on Industrial Drive in Bethlehem that left a pedestrian with serious injuries.

The expanded police department’s finish will set in motion another project in downtown Allentown.

The Northampton County Drug Task Force raided four convenience stores Thursday — three in the Slate Belt and one in East Allen Township. Besides the cash seized, authorities said the value of products confiscated surpassed $400,000.

Elijah Patterson, 19, of Allentown, was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges after a three-day Lehigh County Jury trial in March.

Christian Lopez-Rodriguez, 21, of Allentown, died Oct. 17, 2020, shortly after he was shot during a robbery on the Hamilton Street bridge, according to authorities.

Said Township Police Chief Frank Lombardo, “The decisions that I make, while for the organization, will always be guided by my time on the street, which brought every type of experience a police officer could have.”

Gun violence in Pennsylvania has gone up in the pandemic. Pennsylvania State Police data show it’s risen 50% statewide.

The student alleged police roughed him up after a brawl at a high school basketball game in 2020.

Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca, appointed just last month, said investigations are underway. In fact, an arrest has been made in the fatal shooting and it’s not time for knee-jerk reactions.

The First Lady of Pennsylvania met recently with women who have been incarcerated in order to learn about the challenges they face when reentering society.

A group of East Coast states will now let law enforcement agencies share gun crime data.

Texas-based pipeline builder Energy Transfer faces 48 criminal charges related to construction of its Mariner East pipeline project, including a felony count of failing to report pollution.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Advocates are calling for a review of how Lehigh County spends money on criminal justice. And, they are pushing for it to be part of next…

The five-member panel in charge of state legislative redistricting says several thousand state prisoners should be counted in the districts where they're imprisoned.

As of Sept. 17, nearly half the holding areas in the Northampton County Prison were in quarantine due to what officials are calling a “delta outbreak.” Cases have jumped this month from almost none at the end of August to now more than 30 among inmates and employees.

The Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office recently received accreditation from The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise at the Northampton County Prison (NCP) where just under half of the jail’s nearly 600 inmates are vaccinated.

By a unanimous decision, Allentown City Council named Charles Roca the city’s new chief of police.