Crime & Safety
Township Police Department Issues 2011 Year-End Report
The 2011 Lower Saucon Township Police Department report includes crime statistics as well as information about enforcement and community relations.
The Lower Saucon Township Police Department recently released its 2011 year-end report, which contains important information about crime, enforcement and public safety in the township.
The report was issued by Chief of Police Guy Lesser on Feb. 17, and includes the following enforcement and crime statistical highlights for 2011:
- A total of 303 adult and juvenile arrests were recorded for misdemeanors and felonies; a total of 155 non-traffic citations were issued; a total of 1,963 traffic citations were issued; a total of 1,041 faulty equipment/warning notices were given out; and 130 parking tickets were issued.
- One rape, one robbery, 14 burglaries, five motor vehicle thefts, 34 assaults and 77 larceny thefts were reported, all of which are classified ast Part I offenses, according to Uniform Crime Reporting statistics.
- A total of 257 vehicle crashes was recorded, which according to Lesser was a number "nearly identical" to the previous year.
- Officers responded to 4,214 incidents, crashes and offenses, which represented an approximately 5 percent decrease from 2010. Lesser noted in the report that 2010 "had the highest total the department ever recorded."
- The average response time to all incidents in 2011 was approximately 8 minutes.
- Officers logged a total of 226,583 miles while on patrol in 2011, and performed 6,079 vacant home checks.
- The Township Crime Index for 2011 was 1,225 offenses per 100,000 residents, which Lesser said is "significantly lower" than the 2010 Pennsylvania Crime Index of 2,539 and the 2010 National Crime Index of 3,345.
- The overall clearance rate for offenses was approximately 77 percent.
The following are personnel highlights from the 2011 report:
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- The police department's D.A.R.E. program continued in its 18th year at Saucon Valley Elementary School, where it is now coordinated by officer Kyle Haggerty. The former coordinator of the program, officer Eric Medei, left the department in 2011. Under the personnel section of the report, Medei is classified as having been "dismissed/resigned."
- Jared Gunshore of Springfield Township was hired as a part-time officer. Gunshore has an Associate's Degree in criminal justice from Northampton Community College and works full-time for the Lehigh County Sheriff's Department.
- Officer Robert Winters was promoted from part-time to full-time patrolman on Feb. 16, 2011. He had been a part-time officer with the department since February 2010. Winters was also named Officer of the Year for 2011 at a ceremony held before Lower Saucon Township Council on Feb. 15, 2012.
The following are community involvement and miscellaneous highlights from the 2011 report:
- The Lower Saucon PD bike patrol's Officer David Roxberry participated in the opening of the Saucon Rail Trail in May 2011. Officers from the bike patrol also distributed "School's Open, Drive Carefully" and Halloween safety posters to township businesses, and Roxberry rode his bicycle to help lead the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Halloween Parade in October. Bike patrol officers Roxberry and James Connell logged more than 569 miles throughout the year and "continue to receive many positive comments from residents they have met while on bike patrol," according to the report.
- The Lower Saucon PD's K-9 unit under the leadership of Officer Keith Bredbenner participated in a K-9 handling demonstration at Hellertown-Lower Saucon Community Day at Dimmick Park in August. Members of the unit also conducted locker searches for drugs and other contraband at Saucon Valley High School and Saucon Valley Middle School.
- One large DUI checkpoint conducted in coordination with the City of Bethlehem, the Colonial Regional Police Department, the Lehigh Township Police Department and the Walnutport Police Department resulted in 10 DUI arrests in one night. Throughout the year, officers participated in four DAI checkpoints, nine roving patrols and one "Cops in Shops" initiative in three police jurisdictions, resulting in a total of 39 DAI arrests and seven liquor law violations. Several DUI operations were conducted in coordination with the Hellertown and Freemansburg police departments. The Lower Saucon PD DUI Coordinator is Officer Scott Snyder.
- Numerous cards, letters, personal visits, comments, and even snack and fruit baskets were received from residents who wanted to thank the police department for its efforts. Monetary donations that were received "were used to help support several of (the department's) operations and to help purchase new equipment," such as weights for the fitness area, the report noted. A local business, Keystone Automotive, also donated a replacement part for a police vehicle.
- Grants totaling $17,414.24 were used to help fund the department's DUI checkpoint, roving patrol and Cops in Shops programs; a seat belt checkpoint program; an Aggressive Driving Enforcement Program; and the use of bulletproof vests. Northampton County Gaming Revenue and Economic Redevelopment Authority grant funding was sought to "support personnel and vehicle acquisition," according to the report.
- Police Chief Lesser and Investigator Christopher Leidy spoke about crime and public safety in a presentation to the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Chamber of Commerce in February 2011.
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