January 16, 2023

Police were dispatched to a Newtown Township business around 7:45 a.m. for the report of catalytic converter thefts that occurred over the weekend. Four catalytic converters were taken, and the investigation is ongoing at this time.

Police were dispatched to a Newtown Township business around 3:15 p.m. for the report of catalytic converter thefts that occurred over the weekend. Three catalytic converters were taken, and the investigation is ongoing at this time.

See NTPD Incident Blotter: January 13-19, 2023

“This is happening in the Far Northeast, it’s happening in Roxborough, it’s happening in North Philadelphia, it’s happening in Center City,” said Inspector Charles Layton, who oversees the homicide, major crimes, and special victims units. “I don’t think if you go outside of the city it’s going to change anything because they have increasing carjackings, as well.”

“I don’t think the public is aware of this because they may think of shootings usually happening at bars or nightclubs, certainly not at gas stations,” said lawyer David P. Thiruselvam, who has filed nine lawsuits against gas stations. “But it’s becoming an epidemic, and the gas station industry is aware of it because it’s in the news all the time. But they are not doing anything about it.”

Other violent crimes at gas stations have soared, according to police data. Carjackings have more than quadrupled, with 30 so far this year, up from seven last year. There were none between 2018 and 2020.

There have been 69 gunpoint robberies at stations this year, up from 65 for all of last year. Nonfatal shootings at gas stations have spiked, as well, leaving 17 victims so far this year and last year. The city averaged only one a year from 2018 to 2020.

Joint Comprehensive Plan, Hiring Officers of Color, Toll Bros Land Development, Pedestrian Safety, 2021 Audit, 2023 Budget Discussion, More…

This is my personal summary of the November 9, 2022, meeting of Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.

Access the 2022 BOS Chronicle for a more detailed summary of this meeting plus an updated BOS voting record (UNOFFICIAL) for 2022.

Agenda Items

• Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions
  • Joint Comprehensive Plan
• Public Comment
  • Resident Makes Case For Hiring Police Officers of Color
• Land Development
  • Consider Preliminary as Final Plan approval for Newtown AOP (Toll Bros.)*
• Engineer's Report
  • Engineer:  November 4, 2022, Engineer’s Report
  • N. Sycamore Street Pedestrian Safety
  • Pedestrian Crosswalk Improvements at Newtown Walk
• Manager's Report
  • 2021 Financial Statement (Audit)
  • October 2022 Police Report
• Old Business
  • 2023 Budget Discussion
• Official Video

At the November 10, 2021, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Police Chief John Hearn gave his October 2021 Police Report.

The Chief highlighted several items including the high number of deer struck by cars and gave some details regarding an October 22, 2021, serious accident involving a pedestrian near the North Sycamore Street/Silo Drive Intersection.

Supervisor John Mack pointed out that there have been a number of accidents involving pedestrians at this location (read, for example, “Silo Drive & North Sycamore: A Dangerous Intersection in Newtown Township!”.

It was the Chief's opinion that speeding was not a major factor, it was more about distracted drivers and pedestrians not using the crosswalk.

Mr. Mack asked the Chief if he had any ideas for making this intersection safer such as using yellow warning lights. The Chief pointed out problems with that and suggested that education is needed and that perhaps flyers could be posted in local businesses. He also said he would be meeting with Bucks County traffic officials to see if they had further ideas.

On July 27, 2021, at approx. 12:30pm, the male and female in the attached photos entered the Ulta Beauty store located at 2914 S Eagle Road, Newtown, where they proceeded to conceal several items within the store and left without making payment for the merchandise. The male suspect is wearing a Six Flags Great Adventure, Jersey Devil T-Shirt and the female is wearing a Team Hacker, Purgatory Boxing Club T-shirt.

A Bucks County community has been ranked as one of the safest towns in Pennsylvania.

SafeWise, a security product review platform, recently ranked the 10 safest towns and cities in the Keystone State based on recent crime statistics as well as data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Buckingham Township made the list. The township, with a population of 20,279, came in fifth.

The organization ranked 50 Pennsylvania cities in 2021 using recent crime statistics and data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to SafeWise, 136 Pennsylvania cities and towns met the criteria to be considered for the ranking. Seven of the cities on the list reported no violent crimes and 25 reported fewer than five total violent crimes.

Crime concerns in Pennsylvania

The violent crime rate in Pennsylvania has held at 3.1 incidents per 1,000 people for the past three years, which has been below the national average every year. Even so, Pennsylvanian’s level of worry about violent crime is about 5% higher than the rest of the country.

• 20% fewer people experienced violent crime in Pennsylvania than the average nationwide.
• 62% named gun violence their top safety concern (US 53%), and twice as many people reported having an experience with gun violence in the past year.
• Gun violence grabbed headlines much of the year in hotspots like Philadelphia, where gun-related deaths eclipsed the total number of homicides in 2019 by 40% as of early October.
• Mass shooting incidents have increased 79% year over year, from 19 in 2019 to 34 this year.
• 44% of survey respondents are most worried about a gun violence incident happening to them (US 38%).
• 38% worry about police violence daily (US 40%) and 53% have confidence in law enforcement (US 56%).

Interim Police Chief Jason Harris presented the Calls Report for August 2018 at the September 12, 2018, Board of Supervisors meeting. In August, the Newtown Police Department responded to 1,519 calls, 327 (22%) of which were in Wrightstown Township (Newtown Police provides services to both Newtown Township and Wrightstown). See a summary of the report above. Note: Not all calls are listed.

Lt. Jason Harris, Interim Police Chief, presented the Calls Report for June 2018 at the August 8, 2018, Board of Supervisors meeting. In that month, the Newtown Police Department responded to 1,475 calls, 255 (17%) of which were in Wrightstown Township (Newtown Police provides services to both Newtown Township and Wrightstown). Note: Not all calls are listed.