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Adult Offenders

& Crime in Erie County

Analysis of Arrest Data from 2001-2009

George Fickenworth, Assistant Director

Ben Singletary, Graduate Assistant

I. Executive Summary

This report illustrates comparative arrest data for Erie County and other Pennsylvania urban third-class counties, as well as

select state and national figures, for the years 2001 through 2009. Urban third-class counties used in this report are

consistent with those used in previous years’, and include Berks, Dauphin, Erie, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, and

Northampton. Adult arrests in Erie County have steadily decreased from a seven year high of 9,355 in 2005 to 7,804 in

2009. These 7,804 adult arrests in 2009 accounted for 81% of the total 9,631 arrests of that year (the remaining 19% being

juvenile arrests). The proportion of adult arrests has risen slightly from the previous year. Relative to other urban third

class counties in Pennsylvania, Erie County holds the fourth highest adult arrest rate.

Violent crime arrest data in Erie County fell sharply in 2009, after remaining stable from 2005 through 2008. Among the

third class urban counties studied, Erie County’s arrest rate per 1,000 adults 18 and over (further referred to rate per 1000)

is well below both the Pennsylvania and National rates per 1,000.

Property crime in Erie County experienced a net increase of only 50 arrests over the last year, to 1,101. This is the only

category in which arrests in Erie County increased. Between 2001 and 2009, Erie County’s property crime arrest rate has

closely followed Pennsylvania’s property crime arrest rate. In 2009, Erie County’s property crime arrests per 1,000 ended

slightly higher than that of Pennsylvania.

Overall non-index crimes in Erie County have dropped from a high of 8,170 in 2005 to 6,549 in 2009, which is the lowest

point in the measured period. While drug arrests continued their decline in 2009 for both Erie City and Erie County,

weapons charges have continued to increase in Erie City and Erie County, after a sizeable drop in 2006. Among other urban

third class counties, Erie County is rated in the middle regarding non-index crime arrests per 1000.

Notes: various tables include within this report include racial breakdown and comparisons of arrest rates. It should be

noted that both the PA unified crime report system and the US Census does not include Hispanic as a race; rather this is

categorized as ethnicity. Therefore, the tables do not include Hispanic as a subcategory, as those who identify themselves

as Hispanic are also included in the Black or White categories.

It is also imperative to reaffirm that the data pertains to arrests, not actual offenses committed. The information should

not be interpreted as implying a specific region is doing better or worse than others, or even compared to itself. Other

variables not included in this report could be used to make a more substantive comparison. The data here only illustrates

arrest data for each year.

II. Summary of 2009 Adult Arrest Data

Sections II through VI relate adult arrest data for Erie County and other Pennsylvania third-class counties identified in the

Executive Summary. Data was taken from the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Report online query system in the summer of

2010 to compile this report. Rate per 1,000 data was calculated using the previous mentioned arrest data as well as the

latest population data available from the US census website, www.census.gov. 2009’s adult arrests are the lowest of the

nine year period studied, down from a high of 9,355 in 2005. The 7,804 adult arrests comprise 81% of the total 9,631 Erie

County arrests in 2009.

Figure 1:

Figure 1 shows total adult arrests for Erie County, Erie City, and Erie County Only (Erie County total minus Erie City total).

These areas are utilized throughout the report for comparison purposes. Erie County Only, or the Erie County Minus Erie

City total, consists of those areas outside Erie city limits. The number of adult arrests in the County Only area increased

slightly in 2009; however, the rate fell to its lowest point in both the Erie City and Erie County measures over the course of

the time periods compared.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

County minus City 4,86 4,73 4,51 4,96 5,085 5,210 4,619 4,895 5,035

Erie City 3,37 3,84 3,95 3,98 4,270 3,550 3,572 3,118 2,769

Erie County 8,24 8,57 8,47 8,95 9,355 8,760 8,191 8,013 7,804

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2,500

5,000

7,500

10,000

Total Adult Arrests

Figure 2:

Figure 2 shows total adult arrests as a rate per 1,000. In 2009, the rates of Erie County, Erie City, and County minus City

areas converged near 36 arrests per 1,000. 2009’s arrest rate for both Erie County and Erie City reached its lowest point in

2009.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

County minus City 36.16 34.87 32.99 36.64 37.52 37.64 33.25 35.06 36.06

Erie City 43.64 49.65 51.14 51.50 55.19 46.74 47.02 41.05 36.45

Erie County 38.89 40.23 39.55 42.04 43.94 40.86 38.12 37.17 36.20

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

Total Adult Arrests - Rate per 1,000

Figure 3:

The state of Pennsylvania classifies Erie County as a third class urban county. Figure 3 illustrates total adult arrests in the

seven urban third class counties. Erie, Lehigh, Luzerne, and Berks Counties all saw decreases in adult arrests from 2008 to

2009. Erie County’s rank among the measured counties fell to third in terms of total arrests in 2009, with Lackawanna and

Northampton Counties reporting lower numbers of arrests.

Berks Dauphin Erie Lackawanna Lehigh Luzerne Northampton

2001 10,382 9,744 8,245 5,348 10,194 5,407 6,039

2002 11,045 10,271 8,578 5,276 9,474 8,484 6,357

2003 11,510 10,597 8,473 5,174 9,989 8,832 6,246

2004 12,564 11,301 8,950 5,442 9,631 9,535 6,230

2005 11,918 11,439 9,355 5,378 9,130 9,875 7,036

2006 12,683 12,080 8,760 6,135 8,880 10,512 7,089

2007 13,231 11,250 8,191 5,312 8,610 10,273 7,508

2008 13,775 11,709 8,013 5,857 8,632 10,692 7,487

2009 12,849 11,844 7,804 6,179 8,475 10,196 7,623

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Total Adult Arrests, PA Third Class Counties

Figure 4:

Erie County’s adult arrest rate per 1,000 continued to decline in 2009 to its lowest point, 36.3, from a high in 2005 of 46.52,

as shown in Figure 4. Similar declines occurred in Berks, Lehigh, and Luzerne counties. Dauphin retained the highest rate

of compared counties at 60.6 arrests per 1,000, and Lehigh’s 2009 rate (32.9) claimed the lowest rate among the third class

counties compared in the analysis. Erie County’s position in this category fell to third lowest among the measured counties.

Berks Dauphin Erie County Lackawanna Lehigh Luzerne Northampton

2001 28.42 51.11 40.74 32.05 42.94 21.44 29.49

2002 29.89 53.88 42.39 31.62 39.91 33.64 31.04

2003 30.88 55.69 41.87 31.01 42.08 35.02 30.50

2004 33.71 59.28 44.23 32.61 40.57 37.81 30.42

2005 41.10 61.11 46.52 33.96 37.53 41.57 32.89

2006 41.28 62.15 40.94 36.91 34.49 42.00 31.06

2007 43.06 57.88 38.30 31.96 33.45 41.05 32.90

2008 45.00 59.90 37.30 35.28 33.51 42.87 32.81

2009 41.98 60.60 36.30 37.22 32.90 40.88 33.40

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

Total Adult Arrests, rate per 1,000, PA Third Class Counties

III. Summary of Adult Violent Crime Data

Figure 5:

Violent crimes are classified as homicide, robbery, rape, or aggravated assault. As shown in Figure 5, arrests for Violent

Crimes throughout Erie County and Erie City fell drastically in 2009, over 40%. Erie City accounted for exactly half of the

154 violent crimes committed in 2009. Violent Crime arrests in both Erie City and Erie County fell to their lowest point in

the nine-year study period, largely due to the 53% drop in violent crime arrests in Erie City.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

County minus City 67 82 90 91 123 75 83 103 77

Erie City 165 167 192 184 185 170 166 171 77

Erie County 232 249 282 275 308 245 249 274 154

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Total Adult Violent Crime Arrests

Figure 6:

Figure 6 shows that Erie County’s violent crime rate is consistently lower than national and state averages, and has

remained stable except for a spike from 2003 to 2005. Erie County’s 2006 violent crime rate per 1,000 dropped to 1.14,

where it remained through 2007. After a slight increase in 2008, 2009’s violent crime rate fell to its lowest point in the nine

year period (.72). Erie City’s violent crime rate follows a similar pattern. The rate increased greatly from 2003, to 2005,

where it peaked at 2.73, before dropping to just 1.01 in 2009 (less than half of the previous low 2001’s rate of 2.13).

National violent crime rate data was unavailable for 2009 at time of publication.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Erie City 2.13 2.16 2.48 2.38 2.73 2.14 2.14 2.25 1.01

Erie County 1.15 1.23 1.39 1.36 1.53 1.14 1.14 1.27 0.72

Pennsylvania 2.60 2.53 2.41 2.50 2.16 2.13 2.09 2.15 2.05

National 2.20 2.15 2.05 6.35 4.69 4.74 4.67 4.55

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

Violent Crime - Arrest Rate per 1000

Figure 7:

Robbery Arrests throughout Erie County fell in 2009, with the most significant drop occurring in the County minus City

measure. 2009 held the second lowest number of arrests for Robbery, only slightly higher than 2001’s 56 arrests. Refer to

Figure 7 for a detailed graph.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009


Erie City 45 58 65 58 54 66 55 63 50

Erie County 56 70 76 75 92 76 75 91 61

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Robbery Arrests

Figure 8:

After dropping from a nine year high of 14 in 2001, the number of murder/manslaughter arrests has remained relatively

stable. There were 6 murde/manslaughter arrests in Erie County in 2009, 5 of which occurred within Erie City. While the

number of murder/manslaughter arrests has fallen since 2007, 2009’s arrests remain near the nine year average of 6.9.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009


Erie City 10 4 4 5 3 2 6 5 5

Erie County 14 5 8 6 3 5 8 7 6

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Murder / Manslaughter Arrests

Figure 9: Violent Crime Arrests, Erie County (Male vs. Female, by age)

18-20 21-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

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2000 # 14 77 9 71 7 59 4 21 4 8 0 2

% 5% 28% 3% 26% 3% 21% 1% 8% 1% 3% 0% 1%

2001 7 54 10 82 6 42 4 18 0 6 0 3

3% 23% 5% 35% 3% 18% 2% 8% 0% 3% 0% 1%

2002 2 59 14 84 8 41 2 27 1 4 0 7

1% 24% 6% 34% 3% 16% 1% 11% 0% 2% 0% 3%

2003 7 42 15 88 19 50 11 37 2 5 1 5

2% 15% 5% 31% 7% 18% 4% 13% 1% 2% 0% 2%

2004 9 64 17 72 17 38 5 36 2 13 0 2

3% 23% 6% 26% 6% 14% 2% 13% 1% 5% 0% 1%

2005 16 62 13 97 10 47 6 44 1 9 0 3

5% 20% 4% 31% 3% 15% 2% 14% 0% 3% 0% 1%

2006 5 52 16 72 7 50 6 29 0 8 0 0

2% 21% 7% 29% 3% 20% 2% 12% 0% 3% 0% 0%

2007 13 46 10 53 10 39 6 35 0 8 0 5

5% 18% 4% 21% 4% 16% 2% 14% 0% 3% 0% 2%

2008 6 88 15 91 6 58 7 34 2 7 0 2

2% 32% 5% 33% 2% 21% 3% 12% 1% 3% 0% 1%

2009 1 29 13 55 3 31 4 11 0 2 0 2

1% 19% 8% 36% 2% 20% 3% 7% 0% 1% 0% 1%

Figure 9 illustrates violent crime arrests in terms of age, comparing male and female arrests. As an example, in 2009, there

were 55 arrests of males aged 21-29 for violent crimes. This accounts for 36% of all violent crime arrests in 2009.

Proportionally, this age group represents the highest number of violent crime arrests, and has traditionally done so

throughout all reporting periods in this report.

Figure 10: Violent Crimes, Erie County (Male vs. Female, by race)

White Black Native Pacific

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2000 # 26 144 12 93 0 0 0 1

% 9% 52% 4% 34% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2001 11 107 16 98 0 0 0 0

5% 46% 7% 42% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2002 17 127 10 94 0 0 0 1

7% 51% 4% 38% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2003 31 139 23 88 0 0 1 0

11% 49% 8% 31% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2004 26 142 24 83 0 0 0 0

9% 52% 9% 30% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2005 25 150 21 111 0 0 0 1

8% 49% 7% 36% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2006 18 137 16 69 0 0 0 5

7% 56% 7% 28% 0% 0% 0% 2%

2007 25 118 13 91 0 1 1 0

10% 47% 5% 37% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2008 23 142 14 95 0 0 0 0

8% 52% 5% 35% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2009 13 87 8 46 0 0 0 0

8% 56% 5% 30% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Figure 10 illustrates violent crime arrests broken down by sex and race. Latino-descent populations are recorded in the US

Census as either white or black, so it is not known what rates apply to this population.

Figure 11:

Figure 11 shows the number of violent crime arrests reported for urban third class counties. Arrests in Erie County fell 44%,

while 2009 arrests in other urban third class counties remained stable or increased. Only Lackawanna County had a lower

number of violent crime arrests in 2009.


2001 508 510 232 188 336 198 234

2002 535 479 249 189 339 239 186

2003 482 475 282 167 328 282 180

2004 514 502 275 155 305 350 207

2005 529 535 308 173 269 370 252

2006 568 666 245 166 287 352 247

2007 541 645 249 132 278 374 186

2008 622 582 274 124 234 350 243

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Total Violent Crime Arrests, PA Third-Class Counties

Figure 12:

In 2009, as shown in Figure 12, Erie County’s arrest rate fell to the lowest position among the urban third class counties

studied, about half of its highest rate in 2005.


2001 1.39 2.68 1.15 1.13 1.42 0.83 1.14

2002 1.45 2.51 1.23 1.13 1.43 1.01 0.91

2003 1.29 2.49 1.39 1.00 1.38 1.19 0.88

2004 1.38 2.63 1.36 0.93 1.28 1.47 1.01

2005 1.82 2.85 1.53 1.09 1.11 1.56 1.18

2006 1.84 3.42 1.14 0.99 1.11 1.40 1.08

2007 1.76 3.31 1.14 0.79 1.08 1.49 0.81

2008 2.03 2.98 1.27 0.75 0.91 1.40 1.06

2009 1.96 3.31 0.72 0.82 1.02 1.56 0.87

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Violent Crime Arrests - Rate per 1000, PA Third Class Counties

IV. Summary of Adult Property Crimes

Figure 13:

Figure 13 illustrates that property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, or arson) remained mostly stable

between 2001 and 2007, with the exception of spikes in 2004 and 2006. After 2007, however, adult property crime arrests

in both Erie County and County minus City rose to their highest levels of the nine year period, while property crime arrests

in Erie City neared their lowest point.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009


Erie City 306 302 229 380 291 311 335 282 227

Erie County 853 880 784 1052 877 1035 951 1051 1101

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Total Adult Property Arrests

Figure 14:

Historically, the property crime rates of Erie City, Erie County, and Pennsylvania have followed similar trends. Notably, Erie

City’s property crime rate has fallen 29% since 2007, placing it well below both Pennsylvania’s and Erie County’s rate. Since

2007, Erie County’s rate has been similar to Pennsylvania’s. The arrest rates for property crimes in Erie City, Erie County,

and Pennsylvania have remained higher than the national average, as shown in Figure 14. 2009 National arrest rates were

not available at time of publication.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Erie City 3.95 3.90 2.96 4.91 4.31 3.92 4.22 3.71 2.99

Erie County 4.22 4.35 3.87 5.20 4.36 4.83 4.44 4.89 5.12

Pennsylvania 4.29 4.18 4.21 4.42 4.64 4.43 4.60 4.96 5.00

National 5.68 5.59 5.51 3.52 3.43 3.33 3.26 3.21

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

Property Crime Arrests - Rate per 1,000

Figure 15:

In 2009, burglary arrests in Erie County remained unchanged from 2008, as shown in Figure 15. Though the number of

arrests throughout Erie County was stable, burglaries in Erie City fell by 50%, while burglary arrests in non city areas rose by

46%.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Erie County 160 202 136 238 177 228 195 217 217

Erie City 88 96 54 116 83 90 100 105 53


0

50

100

150

200

250

Burglary Arrests

Figure 16: Property Crime Arrests, Erie County (Male vs. Female, by age)

18-20 21-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

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2001 # 74 211 77 209 54 110 19 59 18 18 2 2

% 9% 25% 9% 25% 6% 13% 2% 7% 2% 2% 0% 0%

2002 58 303 69 188 43 96 25 68 9 13 2 6

7% 34% 8% 21% 5% 11% 3% 8% 1% 1% 0% 1%

2003 65 219 80 170 44 89 28 51 12 16 4 6

8% 28% 10% 22% 6% 11% 4% 7% 2% 2% 1% 1%

2004 106 312 96 190 61 102 44 80 8 34 10 9

10% 30% 9% 18% 6% 10% 4% 8% 1% 3% 1% 1%

2005 77 204 83 187 55 96 31 93 12 28 7 4

9% 23% 9% 21% 6% 11% 4% 11% 1% 3% 1% 0%

2006 55 166 98 218 82 114 48 92 13 35 2 12

5% 16% 9% 21% 8% 11% 5% 9% 1% 3% 0% 1%

2007 75 182 91 214 50 138 34 101 16 40 3 7

8% 19% 10% 23% 5% 15% 4% 11% 2% 4% 0% 1%

2008 106 243 117 265 58 112 40 59 11 25 8 7

10% 23% 11% 25% 6% 11% 4% 6% 1% 2% 1% 1%

2009 86 216 192 263 62 112 41 73 18 29 7 6

8% 20% 17% 24% 6% 10% 4% 7% 2% 3% 1% 1%

Figure 17: Property Crime Arrests, Erie County (Male vs. Female, by race)


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2001 # 188 463 52 144 0 0 4 2

% 22% 54% 6% 17% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2002 142 583 63 89 0 0 1 2

16% 66% 7% 10% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2003 192 441 40 109 1 0 0 1

24% 56% 5% 14% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2004 226 569 99 154 0 1 0 3

21% 54% 9% 15% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2005 200 492 65 119 0 0 0 1

23% 56% 7% 14% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2006 245 502 61 133 1 0 1 2

24% 49% 6% 13% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2007 203 520 66 159 0 1 0 2

21% 55% 7% 17% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2008 234 598 102 111 0 0 4 2

22% 57% 10% 11% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2009 307 574 94 123 0 0 1 2

28% 52% 9% 11% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Figures 16 and 17 relate to property crimes categorized by age group and race. In Figure 16, 263 property crime arrests

were attributed to males aged 21-29. This number represents 24% of all property crime arrests in 2009. Again, males in

the 21-29 age group represents the largest proportion of arrests. 2006 was the first year in the study period in which the

absolute number of property crime arrests was not highest in the 18-20 age group. This trend continued through 2009,

when 216 arrests were attributed to males 18-20. For figure 17, Hispanics are categorized as either white or black, and so

is not included in this measure.

Figure 18:

As shown in Figure 18, Erie County ranks fifth among the studied urban third-class counties in this report. This ranking has

declined since 2007, when Erie County held the third highest number of property crime arrests.


2001 1,130 1,079 853 366 813 462 621

2002 1,334 1,024 880 470 866 697 542

2003 1,276 945 784 425 1,139 848 646

2004 1,489 1,027 1,052 477 994 973 618

2005 1,487 1,227 877 488 888 1,025 710

2006 1,469 1,300 1,035 589 837 989 844

2007 1,288 1,032 951 586 902 1,211 796

2008 1,557 1,208 1,051 677 991 1,407 847

2009 1,517 1,316 1,101 641 1,168 1,234 1,086

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

Total Property Crime Arrests, PA Third-Class Counties

Figure 19:

Figure 19 shows that Erie County holds the second highest property crime arrest rate of the urban third class counties

studied. After increasing since 2007, Erie County’s arrest rate for property crimes is approaching 2004’s peak of 5.20.

Dauphin, Lehigh, and Northampton all had similar increases, while the rates of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Berks all declined

in 2009.


2001 3.09 5.66 4.22 2.19 3.42 1.95 3.03

2002 3.61 5.37 4.35 2.82 3.65 2.94 2.65

2003 3.42 4.96 3.87 2.55 4.80 3.57 3.15

2004 3.99 5.39 5.20 2.86 4.19 4.10 3.02

2005 5.13 6.56 4.36 3.08 3.63 4.32 3.32

2006 4.78 6.68 4.83 3.54 3.25 3.95 3.69

2007 4.19 5.30 4.44 3.22 3.50 4.83 3.48

2008 5.09 6.18 4.89 4.08 3.85 5.64 3.71

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

Property Crimes - Rate per 1,000, PA Third Class Counties

V. Non-Index Crimes

Figure 20:

Illustrated in Figure 20, non-index crime arrests (i.e. drug use, simple assault, etc.) fell in both Erie County and Erie City, and

increased slightly for the second consecutive year in County minus City areas. In Erie City and Erie County, 2009 marked the

nine-year low non-index arrests.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

County minus City 4,254 4,076 3,871 4,202 4,376 4,411 3,920 4,023 4,084

Erie City 2,906 3,373 3,536 3,421 3,794 3,069 3,071 2,665 2,465

Erie County 7,160 7,449 7,407 7,623 8,170 7,480 6,991 6,688 6,549

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

Non Index Crime Arrests

Figure 21:

After the arrest rates for non-index crimes in both Erie County and Erie City peaked in 2005, they have fallen steadily,

converging on the average for all of Pennsylvania in 2009. Erie City’s rate has experienced the most dramatic decline,

falling 42% between 2009 and 2005 (32.5 from 56.21), as shown in Figure 21.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Erie City 37.56 43.59 45.70 44.21 56.18 55.66 38.75 35.08 32.45

Erie County 35.38 36.81 36.60 37.67 40.63 34.96 32.67 31.11 30.47

Pennsylvania 17.87 18.24 18.07 18.86 32.62 32.44 33.09 33.39 32.35

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

Non Index Crime Arrestss - Rate per 1,000

Figure 22: Non-Index Crime Arrests, Erie County (Male vs. Female, by age)

18-20 21-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

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2000 # 397 1624 387 1,761 409 1,305 236 803 76 355 17 112

% 5% 22% 5% 24% 5% 17% 3% 11% 1% 5% 0% 1%

2001 419 1380 395 1,622 383 1,394 217 835 83 291 28 113

6% 19% 6% 23% 5% 19% 3% 12% 1% 4% 0% 2%

2002 343 1375 459 1,945 339 1,335 204 919 90 310 22 108

5% 18% 6% 26% 5% 18% 3% 12% 1% 4% 0% 1%

2003 341 1298 504 1,967 394 1,227 243 905 86 303 18 121

5% 18% 7% 27% 5% 17% 3% 12% 1% 4% 0% 2%

2004 383 1326 504 1,888 393 1,163 302 1,039 79 385 21 140

5% 17% 7% 25% 5% 15% 4% 14% 1% 5% 0% 2%

2005 427 1530 528 2054 444 1222 309 1026 76 429 20 105

5% 19% 6% 25% 5% 15% 4% 13% 1% 5% 2 1%

2006 471 1333 576 1938 416 1114 286 911 61 339 21 104

6% 18% 8% 26% 6% 15% 4% 12% 1% 5% 0% 1%

2007 377 1045 512 1794 408 1113 264 889 85 376 23 105

5% 15% 7% 26% 6% 16% 4% 13% 1% 5% 0% 2%

2008 344 960 419 1428 350 827 227 647 64 336 19 105

5% 14% 6% 21% 5% 12% 3% 10% 1% 5% 0% 2%

2009 355 875 400 1355 351 729 222 729 69 352 24 85

5% 13% 6% 21% 5% 11% 3% 11% 1% 5% 0% 1%

Figure 23: Non-Index Crime Arrests, Erie County (Male vs. Female, by race)


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2001 # 1260 4,405 264 1,205 0 3 1 22

% 18% 62% 4% 17% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2002 1158 4,686 293 1,286 0 3 6 17

16% 63% 4% 17% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2003 1208 4,400 375 1,407 0 2 3 12

16% 59% 5% 19% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2004 1320 4,601 352 1,322 0 1 10 17

17% 60% 5% 17% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2005 1384 4701 416 1639 1 8 3 18

17% 58% 5% 20% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2006 1446 4417 378 1303 3 6 4 13

19% 59% 5% 17% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2007 1303 4017 358 1285 3 3 5 17

19% 57% 5% 18% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2008 1065 3325 258 966 0 1 0 10

16% 50% 4% 14% 0% 0% 0% 0%

2009 1116 3290 201 827 1 2 3 6

17% 50% 3% 13% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Figures 22 and 23 illustrate non-index crime arrests categorized by age and race. The tables relate both absolute numbers,

and the number of arrests as a percentage of total non-index arrests. In 2009, males aged 18-20 accounted for 875 non-

index arrests, representing 13% of all non-index arrests committed that year. Throughout the study period, the age group

accounting for the largest number of non-index arrests in absolute terms is 21-29, for both males and females.

Proportionally, the 18-20 age group accounts for the largest number of non-index arrests, as it is the smallest overall group.

Figure 24:

Weapons charges in Erie County and Erie City continued to increase in 2009, rising 23% and 41%, respectively to their

highest points in the compared nine year period. Weapons charges in the County minus City category have remained

steady since their peak in 2005, as shown in Figure 24.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009


Erie City 13 12 7 11 26 5 14 22 31

Erie County 22 21 15 22 42 17 25 35 43

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Weapons charges

Figure 25:

Drug arrests in Erie County continued to decrease in 2009 to their lowest point of 371, from 2006’s high of 751. The

sharpest decrease came in Erie City, which fell 61% from 2008 to 2009. This data is shown in Figure 25.

Figure 26:

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009


Erie City 175 186 239 214 390 299 256 162 63

Erie County 467 602 530 527 742 751 594 447 371

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Drug Arrests

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

County minus

City735 620 675 804 807 762 732 755 842

Erie City 262 291 222 169 173 144 184 187 197

Erie County 997 911 897 973 980 906 916 942 1,039

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

DUI Arrests

As shown in Figure 26, DUI arrests have been steady in Erie County during the first seven years of the study period, but

increased to their highest point in 2009. Most of these recent arrests occurred outside of Erie City, where DUI arrests have

remained stable since 2007, and increased only slightly in 2009.

Figure 27:

Erie County ranked fifth in overall Non-index arrests in 2009, with 6,549. Erie County falls behind Berks, Dauphin, Lehigh,

and Luzerne counties in non-index crime arrests. These totals fell slightly in every county studied in 2009, with the largest

drop in Berks County (7.5%), who also had the highest overall number of non-index crimes, as shown in Figure 27.


2001 8,744 8,155 7,160 4,794 9,045 4,747 5,184

2002 9,176 8,768 7,449 4,617 8,269 7,548 5,629

2003 9,752 9,177 7,407 4,582 8,522 7,702 5,420

2004 10,561 9,772 7,623 4,810 8,332 8,212 5,405

2005 9,902 9,672 8,170 4,717 7,978 8,480 6,074

2006 10,646 10,114 7,480 5,380 7,756 9,171 5,545

2007 11,402 9,573 6,991 4,644 7,430 8,688 5,685

2008 11,596 9,919 6,688 5,056 7,407 8,935 6,397

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Non Index Crime Arrests, PA Third Class Counties

Figure 28:

Of the seven counties studied in 2009, Erie ranked in the middle, shown in Figure 28. Erie County currently rates behind

Berks, Dauphin, and Luzerne Counties. Every county compared saw decreases in non-index crime arrest rates in 2009, the

largest occurring in Berks County (7.5%). The highest overall non-index crime rate occurs consistently in Dauphin County.

Dauphin County’s rate in 2009 was 50.57. Lehigh had the lowest rate in 2009, with 27.34.


2001 23.94 42.78 35.38 28.73 38.10 20.00 25.31

2002 24.83 45.99 36.81 27.67 34.83 31.79 27.49

2003 26.16 48.14 36.60 27.46 35.90 32.44 26.46

2004 28.33 51.26 37.67 28.83 35.10 34.59 26.39

2005 34.15 51.67 40.63 29.79 32.80 35.70 28.39

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

Non Index Crime Arrests - Rate per 1,000, PA Third Class Counties

References

Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Report Online Query Stem.

Retrieved May 31, 2010. http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/UCR/ComMain.asp

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