Adams County
107,594 people, served by 25 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Adams County follows Pennsylvania law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.
- Who decides release first
Outside Philadelphia, a magisterial district judge sets bail at the preliminary arraignment. In Philadelphia, an arraignment court magistrate appointed by the Municipal Court sets it; magistrates need not be lawyers if they complete a training program. Neither may set bail for murder or voluntary manslaughter; a Common Pleas judge does.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 51942 Pa.C.S. 1515(a)(4)42 Pa.C.S. 1123(a)(5)- Time to see a judge
A person arrested without a warrant must have a preliminary arraignment without unnecessary delay. The rule sets no hour limit. The U.S. Supreme Court's 48-hour rule for a probable cause finding applies as the federal floor.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 516(A)- Money bail
Money bail is allowed. The rules list five kinds of release, from release on recognizance to a money condition no larger than needed to ensure the person appears.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 524(C)- Courts
The Court of Common Pleas, organized in 60 judicial districts, tries felonies and misdemeanors. Magisterial district judges hear summary offenses, the lowest grade, and hold first arraignments and preliminary hearings. In Philadelphia, the Municipal Court tries crimes punishable by up to five years without a jury.
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, Courts of Common Pleas42 Pa.C.S. 151542 Pa.C.S. 1123- Judges and magistrates
Common Pleas judges win a contested election for a 10-year term, then run in yes-or-no retention elections without party labels. Magisterial district judges are elected in contested elections to six-year terms and need not be lawyers. All other judges must be members of the bar.
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, How Judges Are Elected
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The prison board statute covers counties of the third to fifth class and those that opt in; Philadelphia and Allegheny run jails under other arrangements not read here.
What this county does differently
Nothing county-specific yet
Cities and towns
- Gettysburg borough8,254
- Conewago township7,964
- Cumberland township7,116
- Oxford township5,985
- Reading township5,873
- Straban township4,892
- Littlestown borough4,850
- Franklin township4,722
- Mount Pleasant township4,709
- Carroll Valley borough3,992
- Mount Joy township3,830
- Menallen township3,751
- McSherrystown borough3,114
- Union township3,102
- Germany township2,879
- Hamilton township2,749
- Latimore township2,670
- Berwick township2,619
- Butler township2,587
- Hamiltonban township2,397
- Huntington township2,309
- Tyrone township2,294
- Bonneauville borough2,232
- New Oxford borough1,675
- East Berlin borough1,523
- Liberty township1,204
- Biglerville borough1,070
- Freedom township1,055
- Abbottstown borough940
- York Springs borough865
- Highland township852
- Arendtsville borough841
- Bendersville borough631
- Fairfield borough569
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Adams County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
- State Police: Adams CountyState police agency46,667 served
- Gettysburg Police DepartmentCity police department9,110 served
- Conewago Township Police Department, Adams CountyCity police department8,139 served
- Eastern Adams Regional Police DepartmentCity police department8,053 served
- Cumberland Township Police Department, Adams CountyCity police department7,260 served
- Reading Township Police DepartmentCity police department6,000 served
- Littlestown Police DepartmentCity police department4,950 served
- Carroll Valley Police DepartmentCity police department4,626 served
- McSherrystown Police DepartmentCity police department3,182 served
- Latimore Township Police DepartmentCity police department2,732 served
- No name PA0011100City police department2,486 served
- No name PA0010600City police department2,374 served
- No name PA0010700City police department1,934 served
- Bonneauville Police DepartmentCity police department1,818 served
- East Berlin Police DepartmentCity police department1,593 served
- Liberty Township Police Department, Adams CountyCity police department1,412 served
- Biglerville Police DepartmentCity police department1,264 served
- No name PA0012500City police department1,054 served
- Bendersville Police DepartmentCity police department766 served
- No name PA0012200City police department548 served
- Adams County Drug Task ForceOther agency
- Adams County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police
- Bureau of Forestry: Adams CountyOther state agency
- County Detective: Adams CountyOther agency
- Office of Attorney General Region 2: Adams CountyOther state agency
Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.
Crime
The crime index
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Per 100k | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 55 | 60 | 49 | 45 | 41 | 91 | 270 |
| Murder | 3 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 6.8 | |||
| Rape | 29 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 21 | 45 | 31 |
| Robbery | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 61 | |
| Aggravated assault | 20 | 37 | 20 | 14 | 19 | 40 | 170 |
| Property crime | 280 | 335 | 303 | 273 | 251 | 523 | 1,445 |
| Burglary | 50 | 45 | 43 | 39 | 35 | 77 | 133 |
| Larceny | 212 | 273 | 244 | 216 | 210 | 419 | 1,108 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 18 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 6 | 27 | 204 |
| Arson | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 12 |
Outside the crime index
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Per 100k | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All offenses outside the crime index | 1,384 | 1,146 | 1,079 | 1,008 | 998 | 2,038 | 2,703 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 337 | 403 | 361 | 376 | 422 | 689 | 897 |
| Vandalism | 146 | 130 | 95 | 93 | 104 | 206 | 580 |
| Fraud | 283 | 172 | 144 | 123 | 124 | 307 | 415 |
| Drug abuse violations | 461 | 257 | 282 | 251 | 197 | 526 | 475 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 72 | 63 | 75 | 44 | 39 | 106 | 158 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 27 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 24 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 27 | 31 |
| Embezzlement | 5 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 34 | 34 | 16 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 36 | 64 | 50 | 49 | 38 | 86 | 51 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 4.9 | ||||
| Other Group A offenses | 16 | 22 | 39 | 33 | 21 | 48 | 44 |
| Manslaughter by negligence (not in the total) | 1 | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.2 | |||
| Human trafficking (not in the total) | 1 | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 0.7 |
Offenses agencies in Adams County reported to the FBI in incident detail (NIBRS), each year, the second table by the arrest class each offense falls in. Per 100k: offenses per 100,000 people the reporting agencies police, 2021 to 2025 added together, beside Pennsylvania's rate over the same years. Agencies that reported part of a year are counted with their people, as the state's rates count them. – means too few for a rate: the count is under 20.
Source: FBI NIBRS national master files, each agency's offenses and the FBI's population for it. Pennsylvania: the crime index: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CrimeDB's chosen value per year (the state page's figures); outside it: FBI NIBRS, agencies that sent incident detail.