Somerset County
72,004 people, served by 20 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Somerset 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
- Somerset township11,531
- Conemaugh township6,654
- Somerset borough5,944
- Windber borough3,860
- Jenner township3,631
- Paint township3,021
- Berlin borough2,481
- Elk Lick township2,435
- Shade township2,189
- Stonycreek township2,162
- Meyersdale borough2,103
- Brothersvalley township2,047
- Summit township1,941
- Quemahoning township1,783
- Lincoln township1,395
- Milford township1,329
- Jefferson township1,227
- Boswell borough1,153
- Upper Turkeyfoot township1,131
- Jennerstown borough1,115
- Central City borough1,105
- Addison township1,059
- Black township849
- Paint borough842
- Greenville township810
- Rockwood borough793
- Allegheny township786
- Middlecreek township682
- Hooversville borough666
- Southampton township601
- Salisbury borough587
- Confluence borough577
- Larimer township520
- Lower Turkeyfoot township470
- Ogle township454
- Garrett borough403
- Indian Lake borough377
- Stoystown borough354
- Northampton township336
- Addison borough233
- Ursina borough209
- Shanksville borough183
- Benson borough157
- Wellersburg borough147
- New Baltimore borough139
- New Centerville borough132
- Fairhope township86
- Casselman borough79
- Seven Springs borough40
- Callimont borough21
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Somerset County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
State Police: Somerset County sends the reports for Somerset County's own FBI code, PA0560000.
- State Police: Somerset CountyState police agency39,220 served
- Conemaugh Township Police Department, Somerset CountyCity police department6,552 served
- Somerset Police DepartmentCity police department5,827 served
- Windber Police DepartmentCity police department4,654 served
- Shade Township Police DepartmentCity police department2,366 served
- Elk Lick Township Police DepartmentCity police department2,204 served
- Summit Township Police DepartmentCity police department2,077 served
- Meyersdale Police DepartmentCity police department1,992 served
- Berlin Police DepartmentCity police department1,935 served
- Boswell Police DepartmentCity police department1,191 served
- Central City Police DepartmentCity police department961 served
- Rockwood Police DepartmentCity police department815 served
- Jennerstown Police DepartmentCity police department661 served
- Hooversville Police DepartmentCity police department602 served
- Indian Lake Police DepartmentCity police department390 served
- Bureau of Forestry: Somerset CountyOther state agency
- Office of Attorney General Region 3: Somerset CountyOther state agency
- State Park Rangers: KooserOther state agency
- State Park Rangers: Laurel HillOther state agency
- State Park Rangers: Laurel RidgeOther 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 | 70 | 62 | 62 | 77 | 58 | 154 | 270 |
| Murder | 1 | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 6.8 | ||
| Rape | 45 | 21 | 28 | 34 | 30 | 74 | 31 |
| Robbery | 4 | 3 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 61 | ||
| Aggravated assault | 25 | 36 | 30 | 41 | 28 | 75 | 170 |
| Property crime | 292 | 383 | 302 | 285 | 263 | 715 | 1,445 |
| Burglary | 63 | 88 | 64 | 54 | 61 | 155 | 133 |
| Larceny | 206 | 262 | 214 | 207 | 173 | 498 | 1,108 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 23 | 33 | 24 | 24 | 29 | 62 | 204 |
| Arson | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 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 | 1,079 | 933 | 825 | 803 | 723 | 2,044 | 2,703 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 371 | 374 | 370 | 358 | 329 | 844 | 897 |
| Vandalism | 128 | 99 | 101 | 78 | 74 | 225 | 580 |
| Fraud | 266 | 198 | 126 | 101 | 82 | 362 | 415 |
| Drug abuse violations | 152 | 126 | 106 | 144 | 150 | 318 | 475 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 28 | 25 | 35 | 29 | 15 | 62 | 158 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 11 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 27 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 13 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 31 |
| Embezzlement | 11 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 23 | 44 | 16 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 64 | 64 | 35 | 45 | 25 | 109 | 51 |
| Gambling | 3 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.8 | ||||
| Other Group A offenses | 32 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 40 | 44 |
| Manslaughter by negligence (not in the total) | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.2 | ||||
| Human trafficking (not in the total) | 1 | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 0.7 |
Offenses agencies in Somerset 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.