BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — Bensalem Police wants its residents to help them catch criminals.
The Bensalem Township Police Department is urging residents to register their home surveillance video cameras to promote safety.
Bensalem Police are building an interactive map of security cameras in the community, and is asking others to join a growing network of over 400 Bensalem residents who have registered their cameras.
Police said if an incident occurs in their neighborhood, residents will be contacted via the email address they provide to share any relevant video that their cameras may have captured.
Police said residents can share the information through a secure link or decide not to share the footage.
Bensalem Police launched the program in October 2022.
“Help keep our community safe by registering your cameras with the Bensalem Police Department. It only takes a minute to sign-up. Your video could make all of the difference in solving or preventing crimes,” the police department posted on its Facebook page at that time.
William McVey, the township’s public safety director, then said the system is a “community policing collaboration with technology,” adding that the police department’s use of technology with intersection cameras and license plate readers has helped curb crime.
The township’s school buses have also been outfitted with cameras.
Some of the key factors of the program include:
Be accessible only to the Bensalem Police DepartmentIncrease the efficiency of direct video evidence collectionProvide immediate contact information to investigators for camera ownersEnable communities to work together to create a safer Bensalem.
Police said that camera registration takes less than one minute via our secure online portal at: CONNECTBENSALEM.ORG
Police said that registering your cameras does not grant the Bensalem Police Department access to your live video stream; it only enables investigators to know that a camera is present at your location and to request video evidence should an incident occur.