5 Things to Know About Crime in Lower Macungie

The Commander of presented his yearly review of activity in Lower Macungie Township at the board of commissioners' meeting Thursday before announcing that he will retire in August.

Lt. Edgardo Colon will leave the state police to become the chief of police for Upper Macungie Township.

Included in his last presentation were several interesting statistics that occurred between June 1, 2011 and June 1, 2012:

1. There were no homicides in the township, though there were two attempted homicides. One involved and the other involved a mother and daughter conflict.

2. There were two sexual assaults. One was , and the other .

3. There were 34 burglaries in 2012, the same number as in 2011.

4. There were 504 motor vehicle crashes, none fatal. Of those, 194 were non-reportable meaning there were no injuries, and 13 involved commercial vehicles.

5. There were 221 DUI arrests in 2012 compared to 133 in 2011. Of those, 199 were on-view arrests and 22 involved motor vehicle crashes.

Colon's advice for residents involved the rash of thefts from vehicles -- 78 in all.

Most are crimes of opportunity, he said, that are easily prevented. They generally happen between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. and usually involve unlocked cars.

"Rarely are car windows broken," he said.

"Lock your cars, remove the keys and other items of value. Don't leave your GPS stuck to the windshield," he said.