NEPA’s St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Means Fun For Residents, More Work For Police

WILKES-BARRE, PA — St. Patrick’s Day is upon Northeastern Pennsylvania, which will include a weekend of parades and other festivities.

For law enforcement, it will mean more work than usual.

Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano was among the officials at a news conference held at the Lackawanna County Courthouse this week. Officials encouraged residents to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day safely and responsibly.

“As everybody knows, it’s no secret that that’s the biggest alcohol consumption day — at least in the city — is St. Patrick’s Day Parade day,” Graziano said.

Read more:

http://www.timesleader.com/news/home_top-local-news/152319939/

Diversity Lacking In Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Police

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One.

That’s the number of racial minorities on the 143-officer Scranton police force.

Meanwhile, Scranton has morphed into a fairly diverse city in recent years.

The 2010 census reported the city was more than 5 percent black and 3 percent Asian. More than 80 percent is white. About 10 percent of the population is Latino.

With the mostly white police force in Ferguson, Missouri, making headlines while trying to quell protests from the mostly black town residents after a white officer shot a black teenager last month, the lack of diversity in police departments, and the problems that come with it, have been pulled back into the public eye.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/diversity-lacking-in-scranton-w-b-police-1.1748937

Scranton Police Department Launches Online Reporting System

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lackawanna County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rather than dialing 911 for every minor crime, Scranton residents can create their own police reports starting next week.

The Scranton Police Department will launch a new online police report system on Monday. Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano said the new Coplogic system will allow residents to file police reports for minor crimes.

“This will alleviate 15-20 percent of officers having to respond to take these reports,” Chief Graziano said. “Those officers can be staying out in the neighborhoods.”

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-police-department-launches-online-reporting-system-1.1577969

Five Arrested In One Of Largest Heroin Busts Ever For Scranton Police

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lackawanna County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A man purported to be the main supplier of heroin in the Hazleton area was arrested Thursday night, smashing his drug ring and landing the Scranton Police Department one of the largest heroin seizures in its history.

Officers from the Scranton Police Special Investigations Division, with the assistance of Lackawanna County detectives and agents from the FBI, arranged a deal between a confidential police informant and Willy Perez, 35, who officers learned was operating a heroin ring in the Scranton and Hazleton areas, police said.

Mr. Perez had several people package and deliver heroin and cocaine for him, sometimes in disguise, according to an arrest affidavit. One “runner,” known as “Mohamed,” wore Domino’s Pizza delivery uniforms as a cover when delivering the drugs.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/five-arrested-in-one-of-largest-heroin-busts-ever-for-scranton-police-1.1574862