Media Resources
Pennsylvania sees a positive increase in kinship care placement over the last five years
Pennsylvania court data shows that over the last five years, the placement of children in kinship care has nearly doubled. The Office of Children and Families in the Courts (OCFC) tries their best to place children in the care of someone they know and have a relationship with (kinship care) before resorting to other placements – this could be a relative, coach, family friend, etc. This infographic highlights key dependency court data including the average number of children entering the dependency system per year, demographics of the children and placement trends.
Distracted driving citations in Pennsylvania decreased over last year
Pennsylvania distracted driving citations decreased by 5 percent statewide from 2017 to 2018. Despite the recent decrease, citations increased by 118 percent over the last five years. Distracted driving citations in Pennsylvania can be issued for both texting and/or using headphones while driving. Texting includes sending, reading or writing a text-based message.
A look at insurance fraud in Pennsylvania
Insurance fraud refers to involvement in any intentional activity that cons an organization – commonly seen in the form of false insurance claims. The infographic highlights insurance fraud data including the statewide number of insurance fraud cases from 2013 – 2017, common examples of insurance fraud as well as defendant demographics.
Pennsylvania retail theft offenses decreased over past five years
Pennsylvania retail theft offenses are at a five-year low, having decreased 15 percent since 2013. The infographic highlights retail theft data from 2013 to 2017 including the statewide number of retail theft offenses by month, the top 10 counties with the highest number of retail theft offenses and statewide defendant demographics.
Pennsylvania’s Veterans Courts Make a Difference for Veterans
Pennsylvania’s veteran population ranks fourth in the U.S. with 819,185 veterans as of 2017. Since 2009, Pennsylvania’s Veterans Courts have been assisting veterans who are charged with crimes and are struggling with addiction, mental illness or co-occurring disorders.
Traffic cases account for the majority of Pennsylvania magisterial district court cases in 2016
In 2016, 66 percent of all new cases filed in Pennsylvania magisterial district courts were traffic-related. Magisterial district courts are the first level of the judicial system where magisterial district judges (MDJs) handle minor court cases and matters. This infographic highlights statewide court case data and provides an educational glance at the specific types of cases that MDJs preside over.
How prevalent is animal abuse in Pennsylvania?
Over the past year, 70 percent of animal abuse offenses filed in Pennsylvania were for neglect of an animal. The anti-cruelty law (Act 10) that strengthened the protection of animals, commonly known as Libre’s Law, went into effect in late August of 2017.