Blair County
119,541 people, served by 23 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Blair 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
- Altoona43,196
- Logan township12,318
- Frankstown township7,395
- Allegheny township6,597
- Antis township6,412
- Hollidaysburg borough5,558
- Tyrone borough5,377
- Blair township4,726
- Greenfield township3,736
- Snyder township3,316
- Freedom township2,968
- North Woodbury township2,490
- Taylor township2,452
- Roaring Spring borough2,335
- Tyrone township1,937
- Martinsburg borough1,741
- Bellwood borough1,691
- Woodbury township1,643
- Huston township1,362
- Duncansville borough1,147
- Williamsburg borough1,073
- Juniata township926
- Catharine township625
- Tunnelhill borough278
- Newry borough157
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Blair County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
- Altoona Police DepartmentCity police department42,434 served
- State Police: Blair CountyState police agency25,452 served
- Logan Township Police DepartmentCity police department12,112 served
- Allegheny Township Police Department, Blair CountyCity police department6,579 served
- Hollidaysburg Police DepartmentCity police department5,514 served
- Tyrone Police DepartmentCity police department5,276 served
- Blair Township Police DepartmentCity police department4,654 served
- Greenfield Township Police Department, Blair CountyCity police department3,673 served
- No name PA0071600City police department3,283 served
- Freedom Township Police DepartmentCity police department2,940 served
- North Woodbury Police DepartmentCity police department2,420 served
- Roaring Spring Police DepartmentCity police department2,280 served
- Martinsburg Police DepartmentCity police department1,812 served
- Bellwood Police DepartmentCity police department1,752 served
- Duncansville Police DepartmentCity police department1,208 served
- Williamsburg Police DepartmentCity police department1,196 served
- No name PA0116000City police department307 served
- Blair County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police
- Bureau of Forestry: Blair CountyOther state agency
- Office of Attorney General Region 2: Blair CountyOther state agency
- No name PAPDG070XOther agency
- Pennsylvania State University: AltoonaCollege or university police
- State Park Rangers: Canoe CreekOther 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 | 21 | 23 | 30 | 173 | 156 | 161 | 270 |
| Murder | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 6.8 | |
| Rape | 11 | 16 | 12 | 45 | 30 | 46 | 31 |
| Robbery | 2 | 2 | 33 | 27 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 61 | |
| Aggravated assault | 7 | 6 | 16 | 94 | 96 | 87 | 170 |
| Property crime | 153 | 186 | 151 | 975 | 1,095 | 1,022 | 1,445 |
| Burglary | 22 | 35 | 23 | 161 | 161 | 160 | 133 |
| Larceny | 113 | 133 | 116 | 755 | 848 | 784 | 1,108 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 18 | 18 | 12 | 59 | 86 | 77 | 204 |
| Arson | 3 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 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 | 638 | 464 | 476 | 2,407 | 2,666 | 2,655 | 2,703 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 194 | 128 | 140 | 760 | 828 | 818 | 897 |
| Vandalism | 74 | 61 | 51 | 367 | 345 | 358 | 580 |
| Fraud | 136 | 65 | 53 | 144 | 211 | 243 | 415 |
| Drug abuse violations | 166 | 158 | 180 | 876 | 981 | 942 | 475 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 13 | 12 | 16 | 69 | 61 | 68 | 158 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 4 | 3 | 2 | 65 | 94 | 67 | 27 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 1 | 3 | 21 | 25 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 31 | |
| Embezzlement | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8.8 | 16 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 31 | 16 | 16 | 48 | 55 | 66 | 51 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 4.9 | ||||
| Other Group A offenses | 17 | 14 | 11 | 52 | 61 | 62 | 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) | 2 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 0.7 |
Offenses agencies in Blair 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.