Petersburg Pilot -

The Petersburg Borough Assembly gave final approval to an ordinance that offers police officers more discretion in their decision to charge individuals with minor crimes or write borough ordinance violations.

Crimes such as Driving while License is Suspended, Revoked or Canceled, Trespassing and Minor Theft are now up to the officer involved in the case as to whether or not a suspect is arrested.

“If we get a young person, for instance, shoplifting at one of the stores we can write them a ticket and it doesn’t become part of their criminal record,” Police Chief Kelly Swihart said.

Writing a ti...