Public Safety

This section includes statistics on public safety indicators. These indicators evaluate the health and efficiency of safety services and crime trends influenced by poverty and affecting quality of life.

Property crimes like burglary and theft are often associated with drug addiction. However, drug abuse offenses (including DUI offenses) have declined over the last ten years as the region dealt with the fallout of substance abuse disorders, particularly those specific to heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. However, offenses against families and children have increased. The Institute believes that offenses against families and children during COVID-19 were underreported as a result of isolation and school closures. The number is still troublesome and may be somewhat indicative of mental health, poverty, and substance abuse issues.

Safety in schools is of utmost importance. Reported school misconduct incidents, which cover a variety of activities, including fights, disorderly conduct, other harassment or intimidation, bullying, and possession or use of tobacco or controlled substances, fell to low levels during the 2020-2021 school year amid remote learning. In the 2021-2022 school year, these incidents rose to new highs statewide and in all three counties. In the 2023-2024 school year, there has been a slight decrease in incidents in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne Counties, while the Commonwealth overall saw an increase. There is a similar trend among juvenile arrests, which fell in 2021 but rose in 2022 and 2023. Arrest trends stabilized in 2024 with rates across Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne Counties, and the Commonwealth decreasing from the two prior years.

There are almost 1,000 municipal police officers employed in the three counties, including a larger share of part-time officers compared to Pennsylvania as a whole. Nearly 37.0 percent of the municipalities in the region use state police coverage rather than municipal police forces; however, several other federal, state, and local agencies have active roles in law enforcement in the region. Given the current workforce environment, many municipalities have reported on the challenges of recruiting officers.

As of 2024, there were 165 fire departments in the three-county region. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some fire departments in Pennsylvania are experiencing difficulties recruiting and retaining volunteers. There were 3,317 volunteer firefighters in the three-county region in 2024 (down from the prior years), comprising 52.5 percent of the area’s total firefighting force.

The region experiences a relatively low crime rate per capita; however, crime tends to rise in areas with higher poverty levels. Given the region's existing poverty, this is a concerning issue. There is a clear correlation between poverty, housing, health, education, and crime—challenges in any of these areas can lead to an increase in criminal activity.

Another challenge for the region is the recruitment of volunteer firefighters. Communities that rely on volunteer firehouses face difficulties attracting new volunteers, and demographic shifts suggest this issue may persist. This problem extends to emergency medical services (EMS) workers and paid police. Collaborating on regional services may help alleviate these challenges