Criminal Justice

The Allentown Police Department secured $4.1 million in grants to buy 67 license-plate readers and several gunshot-detection devices.

Christopher Fitzgerald was shot and killed near the Temple University campus in Philadelphia while working as a university police officer in February 2023.

City officials say the technology will be "life-changing," while critics have called the system "reactionary" and an expansion of the "surveillance state."

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

18-year-old John Bradley was charged in September with killing a mother and daughter in North Catasauqua. On Thursday, he pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Joshua Nathaniel Colon, 22, of Bethlehem, is charged with first degree aggravated assault in the Aug. 2022 non-fatal shooting of Jathaniel Lopez at Musikfest in Bethlehem.

Marc Muffley, 41, of Lansford in Carbon County, had an entire row of family and friends supporting him at the federal courthouse in Allentown. He was arrested and charged last year.

The woman was missing after jumping into the Delaware River in Upper Bucks County, near the Northampton County border, state police said Tuesday.

Lehigh County announced a new service that allows 911 operators to request live video communication from callers

The shooting was at least the fourth in the past week in which people have been injured or killed.

Newly released FBI data show hate crimes in the U.S. hit a 12-year high in 2020.

A Pennsylvania State Police Officer recalls when United Flight 93 crashed into a Somerset County field on September 11th, 2001.

The Lehigh County jail has held two voluntary mass clinics with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine since May, putting shots into 322 arms. Corrections Director Janine Donate said now they’ve switched strategies: they are waiting until they get enough inmates interested - about four or five - to use up a vial of vaccine.

The Allentown Police Department is hoping to expand a program that could reduce some interactions with law enforcement and help connect people with social services.

The Bethlehem Police Department is once again hosting its annual Citizens Police Academy after a pandemic-related hiatus.

Lehigh Valley advocates for criminal justice reform are calling on area law enforcement departments to increase transparency, emphasizing how use-of-force incidents are documented.

Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach denies any wrongdoing after being charged with child endangerment in Lehigh County and says she has not committed any crimes.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced charges June 29 against Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach for endangering the welfare of a child and failing to report suspected child abuse, both misdemeanors.

A freshman Philadelphia Democrat has set off a firestorm in Harrisburg by proposing a bill that would establish new mandatory minimum sentences — an approach much more in line with Republicans’ criminal justice platform than his own party’s.

Allentown Police Chief Glenn Granitz is stepping down and taking the same position at the West Reading Police Department.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said the incident began on Route 22 near the exit for Route 309 and Cedar Crest Blvd. when an adult male driving a white Toyota Corolla allegedly shot at a white car being driven by a woman.

Police chiefs from Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton gathered with community members on April 12 to discuss ways to build trust with local law enforcement after a year rocked by protests over police brutality.