Crime, Courts, and Corrections Guide:Non-Traffic Citations
This guide is part of a larger guide on Crime, Courts, and Corrections in the City of Pittsburgh.
In Pennsylvania, non-traffic criminal proceedings are set into motion by either a citation issued to a defendant or an arrest without a warrant. Non-traffic citations typically include a notice to appear before a magisterial judge or trial commissioner if the person receiving the citation is not providing a guilty plea. Citations are given for minor criminal offenses, and are often called summary offenses. The types of offenses that often result in a citation include loitering, disorderly conduct, harassment, public drunkenness, and low-level retail theft. Convictions may result in a fine, and in some cases, non-traffic citations may be expunged from an offender’s criminal record if certain conditions are met.
What's Included in the Data
Publicly Available
- Location generalized to block
- Type of incident
- Date
- Time
- Offender demographics
Not Publicly Available
- Actual location of offense
- Name and address of offender
Where to Find the Data
- Non-Traffic Citations are published through the Western Pennsylvania Region Data Center and is updated daily.
- This data is also featured on the City of Pittsburgh's Burgh's Eye View mapping tool
Things to Know
For more information on non-traffic citations in Pennsylvania, please see the following sites:
- The Pennsylvania Code
- The Website of the Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
- The Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Consumer Legal Information Pamphlets