Newtown District Court Sees Increase In Criminal Cases

Patch recently sat down with District Judge Mick Petrucci, who not only presides over the court in Newtown but is also the newly-elected president of the Magisterial District Judges Association of Bucks County.

Petrucci, who has served two full years of his six-year term, provided an update on activity within the local courts last year, saying there are some alarming trends within the community that he is hoping to address with increased education.

According to data provided by Petrucci, underage drinking cases that went through Newtown District Court, which covers Newtown Township, Newtown Borough, Wrightstown Township and Upper Makefield Township, spiked by roughly 400 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Petrucci calls underage drinking "the biggest issue that I believe we are facing within our Council Rock community."

"We had a very busy summer with juveniles in this district court," Petrucci said. As a result, he's working to support educational resources for the children in the community, including Council Rock Coalition for Healthy Youth.

Education is key to ensuring juveniles don't make the same mistake twice, Petrucci said.

"People are human, I get it. There is no such thing as the perfect individual. If you do make a mistake, I’m trying to teach you to make a better decision going forward," he said.

Bucks County is "very fortunate" to have several resources aimed to help the youth with issues related to substance abuse. Plus, there are a lot of concerned citizens involved in addressing the problem of underage drinking in the community, he noted.

Recently, the Youth Aid Panel returned to Newtown. Petrucci says he was instrumental in bringing it back, and got Upper Makefield to join forces in the effort. The Youth Aid Panel provides an alternative to going through the court system for juveniles accused of minor offenses.

It's not just the youth that are coming into court at higher rates. There was a 20 percent increase in drug cases at Petrucci's court from 2016 to 2017. DUI cases rose 20 percent over the same time period, he notes.

The higher numbers may not mean the problem is increasing but could be an indicator that the police are being very vigilant. "I think the officers are patrolling it more, and they’re doing a great job," Petrucci said.

Overall, criminal cases went up about 20 percent. Of the three police departments under his court's purview, Newtown Township had the biggest increase in criminal cases from 2016 to 2017.

"We had a very busy year in 2017," Petrucci said. And one thing is for sure: in every case, lives are affected. "I take this very seriously," Petrucci said.

Contributed photo