Allegheny County Launches 'Project Reset' To Help Residents Expunge Criminal Records
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Allegheny County is making it easier for residents to see if they can do anything about their criminal records.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Judge Elliot Howsie, District Attorney Stephen Zappala, Chief Public Defender Matthew Dugan, Court Records Director Michael McGeever and other officials were on hand Tuesday to debut "Project Reset."
Some 73.5 million people in the United States have been arrested on a felony charge, meaning that 29.5 percent of residents have a criminal record, and that doesn't take misdemeanor charges into consideration.
However, in Pennsylvania, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said, only 6.5 percent of those eligible have used the expungement process, despite the Clean Slate law signed by Governor Wolf in 2018.
"Project Reset" aims to help residents determine whether anything can be done regarding their criminal record.
"Being arrested changes your life," said District Attorney Zappala.
"Justice is a process and when that process involves allowing people to take advantage of clean slate and expungements, we must all work together to make that as easy and seamless as possible for those individuals."
The Office of Public Defender will host an Expungement Clinic at the Carnegie Library of Homewood, 7101 Hamilton Avenue, on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Attorneys from the office will volunteer their time to assist community members with expungement eligibility and petitions.
Click here to learn more about "Project Reset."