Sunbury police, mayor work to combat increased crime

Francis Scarcella, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
Updated ·3 min read

Sep. 25—SUNBURY — Police Chief Brad Hare and Mayor Josh Brosious are warning residents the increase in violent crime in the city is unacceptable, criminals will face consequences and to be on the lookout for new officers out on patrol.

"It is out of control and getting more and more violent," Hare said. "We are doing all we can to combat this and we will continue to investigate all crimes."

Brosious said he wants to hire another officer in 2023 to combat the already 26 felony assault cases, the 34 child abuse cases, the 157 total felony arrests and the 858 total arrests the city has seen through August.

"It keeps getting worse," Brosious said.

Hare said there were 671 total arrests in 2020, 655 in 2021 and now, this year, the highest he has seen in years at 858.

Hare said the numbers dipped in 2020 because of COVID-19, but officers saw more and more domestic incidents because he believes people were stuck in their homes.

Brosious said the city needs to hire more police.

"I will be adding another officer to the force," he said. "The help is needed."

Currently, Sunbury has nine full-time officers with four part-time officers after the city just hired three of them earlier this month.

The fourth is a retired state trooper, Shawn Williams, who is called in for major investigations. The former state police corporal served more than 20 years investigating homicide cases.

The city only faces one homicide but has four attempted homicide cases that are making their way through the court system currently.

"The violent crimes we are seeing with people using knives and guns is astonishing," Hare said.

Brosious said he wants the department to have all available resources.

"Over the last few years $250,000 has been cut from the police department and I want residents to know I will fund the police, not defund them," he said.

Hare said he is working with Brosious and city council to bring in more officers.

"It's time we put our goals together and keep our city safe," he said. "Our guys are out working the streets and investigating all crimes. We never want to tell a person who calls that we can't get to their issue because we are too busy, but we are getting close to that with the rise in crimes we are seeing."

Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Matulewicz said crime is going up across the county.

"Crime has been going up in the county for the last 20 years with the exception of a year here or there," he said. "The only crime that has gone down is alcohol-only DUIs."

Matulewicz said murders are through the roof with 11 pending across Northumberland County.

"The police have absolutely been overworked," he said. "We definitely need more police."

Brosious said Sunbury is gearing up to battle all crimes.

"Crime will not be tolerated or accepted in Sunbury," he said. "It will not be the norm as long as I am mayor. The record shows that we will catch these criminals and the statistics of the department speak for themselves that our officers are out patrolling and keeping our citizens safe. I have always said if you commit a crime in Sunbury, we will catch you."