Lancaster County Demographics

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, known as the Garden Spot of America since the 18th century, is located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Population: As of 2005, there were 490,562 residents in Lancaster County, representing 4.2% growth since 2000 and 11.3% growth since 1990. The population is: 25.3% under age 18; 14.2% over age 65; and 51% female Statistically this is in parity with the rest of the United States.

Lancaster City, the county seat and largest city in the County of Lancaster has a population of approximately 56,000 residents. The surrounding metropolitan area of Lancaster Township adds an additional 14,000 residents.

Geography: Lancaster County is bounded to the north by Lebanon County, to the northeast by Berks County, and to the east by Chester County. To the south is the Mason-Dixon Line serving as the Maryland border. To the west is York County (the boundary is the western shore of the Susquehanna River). To the northwest is Dauphin County .

DUI Statistics for Lancaster County:

• DUI arrests processed though the County Court system are expected to approach 1,300 cases for the year 2006.

• The majority of offenders are male, (78%), and nearly 50% are under the age of 29.

• The average blood alcohol level (BAC) at the time of arrest is .16% (twice the legal limit of .08%)

• 22.8% : Percentage of county cases with BAC's at the time of arrest greater than .20

• 22.8% : Percentage of county cases with BAC's at the time of arrest between .16-.19

• 35 percent of DUI's in Lancaster County are discovered, investigated and prosecuted as a result of a vehicle crash.

• The percentage of female offenders has risen nearly 60% in the last 8 years, growing from 14% in 1998 to nearly 22% in 2006, taking a significant slice of this heretofore male dominated crime.

• DUI offenders are getting younger. In the last 8 years the group ranging from age 18 to 24 has risen from a rate of 21.2% to 35.8%. Correspondingly the group ranging from age 25 to 34 has dropped from 38.8% to 23%.

• The average blood alcohol level at the time of arrest is dropping. In 1998 the category of .15% and above held 60 percent of the cases. In 2006 this number has dropped to 45.5 percent. The overall BAC countywide average has dropped from .18 to .16%

• The number of DUI arrests in Lancaster County climbs steadily and consistently each and every year. Although the county population increased 4.2% since 2000, the DUI arrests rose 13 percent.

Summation: The incidence of DUI continues to rise in Lancaster County. Perhaps the increase is a result of greater and more sophisticated levels of enforcement. In the last decade, Police officers have been exposed to higher levels of training in detection and field testing. Grants have been made available for many jurisdictions to conduct roving patrols and sobriety checkpoints, snaring many DUI offenders that may have otherwise gone undetected.

The facts are clear. DUI remains a serious problem in Lancaster County as well as across our nation.

Your volunteerism and financial assistance to the DUI Council of Lancaster County remains vital to the public relations, educational and prevention programs that it operates in our attempt to reduce the incidence of DUI in our county