It happens and it leads to some arrests.

Here's how it occurs for a couple crimes:

Bank robberies: FBI puts out regional alerts on the robberies, sharing details and photos of the robbers taken by surveillance cameras in the banks.

Burglaries: When a burglar gets out of a city prison, the commander of the city police district in which the guy lives gets a notice. If burglaries start up in that district after a certain release, the cops know to keep an eye on the guy. If the district abuts a suburban jurisdiction, the smart captains alert the cops in that town and also ask if the town has seen an upsurge in burglaries.

A lot of suburban towns have mutual aid pacts for fires, crime and other emergencies. Don't know if Philly has formalized any such agreements with suburban towns. Anybody out there know?