District Judge Mick 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.

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.