Venango County
49,346 people, served by 10 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Venango 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
- Oil City9,468
- Cranberry township6,273
- Franklin5,984
- Sugarcreek borough4,716
- Cornplanter township2,368
- Sandycreek township2,188
- Oakland township1,409
- Frenchcreek township1,359
- Irwin township1,322
- Pinegrove township1,270
- Cherrytree township1,234
- Rockland township1,153
- Plum township981
- Scrubgrass township855
- Jackson township828
- Clinton township817
- Canal township799
- Pleasantville borough759
- Richland township702
- Emlenton borough663
- Oil Creek township638
- Polk borough615
- Clintonville borough511
- President township495
- Mineral township472
- Rouseville borough460
- Victory township411
- Cooperstown borough374
- Allegheny township308
- Barkeyville borough217
- Utica borough157
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Venango County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
- State Police: Venango CountyState police agency27,974 served
- Oil City Police DepartmentCity police department9,314 served
- Franklin Police DepartmentCity police department5,901 served
- Sugarcreek Police DepartmentCity police department4,699 served
- Polk Police DepartmentCity police department623 served
- Emlenton Borough Police DepartmentCity police department596 served
- Bureau of Forestry: Venango CountyOther state agency
- Office of Attorney General Region 3: Venango CountyOther state agency
- No name PA0610000Sheriff or county police
- State Park Rangers: Oil 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 | 32 | 28 | 22 | 27 | 24 | 94 | 270 |
| Murder | 1 | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 6.8 | ||
| Rape | 18 | 16 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 47 | 31 |
| Robbery | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 61 | |
| Aggravated assault | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 40 | 170 |
| Property crime | 134 | 211 | 155 | 151 | 146 | 561 | 1,445 |
| Burglary | 25 | 34 | 28 | 26 | 38 | 106 | 133 |
| Larceny | 103 | 162 | 113 | 113 | 95 | 413 | 1,108 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 6 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 42 | 204 |
| Arson | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 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 | 613 | 533 | 430 | 491 | 468 | 1,785 | 2,703 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 167 | 159 | 141 | 171 | 158 | 560 | 897 |
| Vandalism | 65 | 53 | 53 | 48 | 30 | 175 | 580 |
| Fraud | 173 | 120 | 66 | 67 | 43 | 330 | 415 |
| Drug abuse violations | 115 | 113 | 86 | 131 | 178 | 439 | 475 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 42 | 34 | 31 | 30 | 18 | 109 | 158 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 27 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 4 | 6 | 9 | 8 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 31 | |
| Embezzlement | 5 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 31 | 16 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 22 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 62 | 51 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 2 | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 4.9 | |||
| Other Group A offenses | 16 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 47 | 44 |
| Manslaughter by negligence (not in the total) | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.2 | |||
| Human trafficking (not in the total) | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 0.7 |
Offenses agencies in Venango 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.