Berks County is joining with other counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by now offering ARDs for certain summary offenses. An ARD or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition allows a defendant to clear their record after completing certain prerequisites, such as a payment of fines and costs, community service, or finalization of classes, like the Underage Drinking Program. It is only available to first time offenders.
The following crimes are eligible for the program:
- Criminal Mischief
- Criminal Trespass
- Disorderly conduct
- Harassment
- Public Drunkenness
- Retail Theft
- Truancy
- Underage Drinking
This program will be extremely beneficial to people as having these summaries on a record may be detrimental to employment, housing, and education.