Crime & Safety
Almost 200 DUI Arrests in Lower Mac in 2012
Lt. Paul Gaspich addresses the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners with 2012 statistics—most of which were record breaking.
The men and women comprising the Pennsylvania State Police Troop M at Fogelsville set records for enforcement categories in 2012, according to their station commander.
Lt. Paul J. Gaspich addressed the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners on Thursday with statistics of incidents that occurred in 2012.
Troop M's Fogelsville barracks serves six townships in Western Lehigh County -- including Lower Macungie as their sole law enforcement officers at least part of the time, Gaspich said.
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PSP is Lower Macungie's sole law enforcement body 100 percent of the time.
Single-year highs were set for criminal arrests, DUI arrests, traffic citations, incidents investigated and warnings issued, Gaspich said.
Find out what's happening in Lower Macungiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"These statistics represent an emphasis on proactive enforcement and criminal investigation, and indicate that the Lehigh Valley is well-served by the members of the Pennsylvania State Police Troop M-Fogelsville Station," he said.
The breakdown was as follows:
- 1,101 criminal arrests
- 527 DUI arrests
- 9,620 traffic citations
- 13,286 incidents investigated
- 5,104 warnings issued
Not all of them could be broken down by township, he said, but of the 527 DUI arrests, 197 were in Lower Macungie Township.
Gaspich emphasized that troopers continue to focus on highway enforcement. Those efforts produced seizure last year of several hundred thousand dollars in cash, and more than $1 million in illegal drugs, contraband, weapons and stolen items.
With a series of photos Gaspich illustrated, for example, that 26.5 grams of cocaine was confiscated -- along with a member of the Latin Kings gang -- in what started as a routine traffic stop on Oct. 4.
Also, 10.53 pounds of brown heroine with a potential street value of $960,000 was confiscated on Oct. 7, also in an incident that began as a traffic stop.
Interstate 78 which runs through Lower Macungie Township, is a major pipeline between New York and other major cities on the East Coast, he said. The officers of the Fogelsville barracks are extremely proactive with its patrol, Gaspich said.
