Carbon County
65,868 people, served by 19 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Carbon 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
- Penn Forest township10,157
- Palmerton borough5,622
- Lehighton borough5,268
- Jim Thorpe borough4,540
- Towamensing township4,514
- Franklin township4,396
- Mahoning township4,296
- Lansford borough4,156
- Nesquehoning borough3,344
- Summit Hill borough3,137
- Lower Towamensing township3,076
- East Penn township2,778
- Weatherly borough2,551
- Kidder township1,862
- Banks township1,040
- Bowmanstown borough968
- Packer township829
- Beaver Meadows borough730
- Weissport borough506
- East Side borough457
- Parryville borough445
- Lausanne township380
- Lehigh township330
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Carbon County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
- State Police: Carbon CountyState police agency25,187 served
- Palmerton Police DepartmentCity police department5,644 served
- Lehighton Police DepartmentCity police department5,265 served
- Jim Thorpe Police DepartmentCity police department4,553 served
- Franklin Township Police Department, Carbon CountyCity police department4,439 served
- Mahoning Township Police Department, Carbon CountyCity police department4,349 served
- Lansford Police DepartmentCity police department4,144 served
- Nesquehoning Police DepartmentCity police department3,345 served
- Summit Hill Police DepartmentCity police department3,139 served
- No name PA0131500City police department2,808 served
- Weatherly Police DepartmentCity police department2,550 served
- Kidder Township Police DepartmentCity police department1,864 served
- Beaver Meadows Police DepartmentCity police department896 served
- Weissport Police DepartmentCity police department412 served
- Carbon County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police
- Office of Attorney General Region 1: Carbon CountyOther state agency
- Reading Northern Railroad: Carbon CountyOther agency
- State Park Rangers: BeltzvilleOther state agency
- State Park Rangers: Hickory RunOther 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 | 37 | 31 | 24 | 27 | 34 | 113 | 270 |
| Murder | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 6.8 | |
| Rape | 13 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 43 | 31 |
| Robbery | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 61 | |
| Aggravated assault | 20 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 62 | 170 |
| Property crime | 162 | 173 | 161 | 245 | 208 | 698 | 1,445 |
| Burglary | 27 | 32 | 28 | 35 | 29 | 111 | 133 |
| Larceny | 120 | 128 | 123 | 199 | 172 | 546 | 1,108 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 15 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 41 | 204 |
| Arson | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 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 | 927 | 741 | 642 | 758 | 700 | 2,772 | 2,703 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 216 | 296 | 288 | 272 | 259 | 979 | 897 |
| Vandalism | 94 | 78 | 55 | 111 | 102 | 324 | 580 |
| Fraud | 214 | 155 | 77 | 108 | 77 | 464 | 415 |
| Drug abuse violations | 313 | 141 | 152 | 166 | 184 | 703 | 475 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 20 | 11 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 67 | 158 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 22 | 27 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 19 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 45 | 31 |
| Embezzlement | 13 | 13 | 9 | 17 | 10 | 46 | 16 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 15 | 20 | 11 | 20 | 11 | 57 | 51 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 4.9 | ||||
| Other Group A offenses | 20 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 65 | 44 |
| Manslaughter by negligence (not in the total) | 1 | 2 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.2 |
Offenses agencies in Carbon 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.