Northumberland County
89,920 people, served by 20 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Northumberland 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
- Coal township9,769
- Sunbury9,617
- Shamokin6,853
- Milton borough6,534
- Mount Carmel borough5,677
- Delaware township4,280
- Ralpho township4,171
- Northumberland borough3,866
- Point township3,805
- Kulpmont borough2,724
- West Chillisquaque township2,604
- Mount Carmel township2,501
- Rockefeller township2,411
- Shamokin township2,328
- Upper Augusta township2,287
- Watsontown borough2,005
- Lewis township1,966
- Zerbe township1,832
- Riverside borough1,806
- Rush township1,585
- Turbot township1,560
- Lower Mahanoy township1,432
- Lower Augusta township1,262
- Jackson township825
- Turbotville borough808
- Washington township798
- Jordan township791
- Upper Mahanoy township769
- East Cameron township663
- East Chillisquaque township617
- Marion Heights borough578
- West Cameron township557
- Herndon borough366
- McEwensville borough314
- Snydertown borough311
- Little Mahanoy township288
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Northumberland County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
- State Police: Northumberland CountyState police agency30,389 served
- Coal Township Police DepartmentCity police department9,554 served
- Sunbury Police DepartmentCity police department9,511 served
- Shamokin Police DepartmentCity police department6,752 served
- Milton Police DepartmentCity police department6,452 served
- Mount Carmel Police DepartmentCity police department5,600 served
- Ralpho Township Police DepartmentCity police department4,174 served
- Northumberland Police DepartmentCity police department3,818 served
- Point Township Police DepartmentCity police department3,794 served
- Kulpmont Police DepartmentCity police department2,684 served
- Mount Carmel Township Police DepartmentCity police department2,446 served
- Watsontown Police DepartmentCity police department2,199 served
- Riverside Police DepartmentCity police department1,996 served
- No name PA0490900City police department1,763 served
- No name PA0491900City police department1,603 served
- Bureau of Forestry: Northumberland CountyOther state agency
- Northumberland County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police
- Office of Attorney General Region 2: Northumberland CountyOther state agency
- Reading Northern Railroad: Northumberland CountyOther agency
- State Park Rangers: ShikellamyOther 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 | 37 | 51 | 30 | 36 | 129 | 270 |
| Murder | 3 | 2 | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 6.8 | ||
| Rape | 14 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 51 | 31 |
| Robbery | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 61 | |
| Aggravated assault | 19 | 15 | 35 | 12 | 20 | 68 | 170 |
| Property crime | 160 | 180 | 150 | 163 | 116 | 518 | 1,445 |
| Burglary | 32 | 51 | 40 | 36 | 22 | 122 | 133 |
| Larceny | 115 | 113 | 89 | 117 | 83 | 348 | 1,108 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 13 | 16 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 48 | 204 |
| Arson | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 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 | 605 | 645 | 583 | 490 | 486 | 1,892 | 2,703 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 195 | 226 | 230 | 233 | 233 | 752 | 897 |
| Vandalism | 68 | 78 | 70 | 39 | 62 | 214 | 580 |
| Fraud | 108 | 127 | 88 | 51 | 46 | 283 | 415 |
| Drug abuse violations | 157 | 111 | 101 | 92 | 98 | 377 | 475 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 13 | 9 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 38 | 158 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 8 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 27 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 31 |
| Embezzlement | 5 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 42 | 16 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 18 | 32 | 24 | 15 | 13 | 69 | 51 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 4.9 | ||||
| Other Group A offenses | 30 | 31 | 25 | 27 | 16 | 87 | 44 |
| Manslaughter by negligence (not in the total) | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.2 |
Offenses agencies in Northumberland 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.