In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there are state level, county level and municipal level police officers. The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) was created in 1905 and consists of 16 Troops located throughout the Commonwealth. PSP troopers investigate crime and also assist other law enforcement agencies throughout the Commonwealth. There are more than 1,200 municipal police departments, regional police departments and county detective agencies that serve local communities by investigating crimes and filing criminal charges. There are hundreds of thousands of criminal offenses filed by police in Pennsylvania each year.
All Pennsylvania communities are provided police coverage by either the Pennsylvania State Police, a municipal or regional police department or a combination of both. You can use the map below to determine what department or troop covers a particular municipality.
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) collect data from municipal and regional police departments regarding criminal investigations and criminal arrests under the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. They also collect data regarding their own internal criminal investigations and criminal arrests.
To see historical uniform crime reports, find data reported by municipal and regional police departments and view a map of crime in Pennsylvania, please visit the Pennsylvania UCR System by clicking here.
Click here to find PSPs crime data, including an overview of PSPs criminal investigations and arrests, hate crimes and firearms related offenses.
PSP has also collected data relating to traffic stops called “Contact Data Reporting” (CDR). To learn more about PSPs CDR program, click here.
Since 2008, the PCCD, along with other state partners, has been working toward improving the rate at which offenders who are arrested for a crime are digitally fingerprinted. A cooperative effort between state, county, and local agencies, the Central Booking project integrates the latest technologies for fingerprinting, image identification, video conferencing, and computerized, record management systems. View the standards for collecting and transmitting booking Center Information.
Over 250 agencies have enrolled in the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program since its launch by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association in 2001.
Accreditation strengthens the professionalism of law enforcement in the Commonwealth. It is also a time-proven means for helping institutions evaluate and improve their overall performance. The program is affordable, Pennsylvania-specific, and user-friendly.
The three-step, accreditation process is below:
- Application - Once a police department and local government officials have decided to pursue accreditation, they send a Letter of Intent along with an application fee of $100 to the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association (PCPA). PCPA then send out a packet of material which includes manuals, support materials, software-tracking and an orientation video.
- Self-Assessment - The accreditation manager compares how the agency’s current policies comply with the program’s 123 standards. Most agencies will discover that they are closer to compliance than anticipated. Thereafter, the group will host a mock assessment, with support from the accreditation staff and other resources, to help prepare for the third phase.
- Formal Assessment - In this final phase, trained assessors conduct an onsite, two-day review of the agency’s alignment with all standards and, if fully aligned, grants accreditation to the organization. Accreditation remains valid for three years.
To view a map of Accredited Police Departments in Pennsylvania, click here.