READING, Pa.- The number of homicides in Berks County is trending downward and local law enforcement says targeted gun-violence suppression efforts are playing a major role.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams says the drop in recent years comes from gun task forces that target illegal guns before they’re used in crimes.
“That task force is really to target individuals that we know are involved in straw purchases of firearms and then providing those firearms to individuals in our community who cannot legally own or possess a firearm,” Adams explained.
Investigators say they use shell casing analysis and ballistic tracing to connect shootings and identify patterns across cases, helping them track repeat weapons and repeat offenders.
And when daytime enforcement winds down, another team takes over.
The Berks County Sheriff’s Office helps lead “Nightlight,” a multi-agency effort that operates at night and focuses on people already under court supervision.
“Nightlight is a joint operation between county detectives, probation and parole, the sheriffs, and local law enforcement,” Berks County Sheriff Mandy Miller said.
The team conducts unannounced visits, bar checks, home visits, and street patrols to ensure people on probation or parole are complying with court-ordered conditions.
“We’ll go out to bars in the area, look for people on probation and parole, do home checks and street corners, making sure they are following the rules of probation and parole,” Miller added.