“All digital evidence in one place has saved countless man hours.”
Scott Meixell | Deputy Chief, Bethlehem PD
When Bethlehem PD decided to deploy integrated body-worn cameras, radios, and a unified digital evidence management solution, they knew their investment was about more than technology - it was about trust.
An evolving town creates new needs.
Bethlehem, PA is a city of 75,000 residents formally known for its steel industry and manufacturing base. Today, it’s been reborn as a vibrant community with a bustling downtown, diverse industry and multiple educational institutions. Bethlehem PD enjoys a positive relationship with the community but officials saw some ways to improve.
Security coordination for events
Musikfest is the pride of Bethlehem. Spanning 10 days and with over 100,000 individuals there any given day, the event requires constant and effective communication among law enforcement.
Easier digital evidence capture
Bethlehem PD has officers on foot, bike, in patrol cars and undercover. They wanted to enable all officers to capture video and photo evidence, without creating additional hurdles.
Simplified content management
Increased amounts of digital evidence, spread among siloed systems, caused massive administrative headaches to get it through the chain of custody fast enough for efficient prosecution.
Making an impact for the city of Bethlehem
Fortifying trust with the community
Officers can now effortlessly capture body-worn video which has dramatically improved the handling of complaints.
Hear it from Bethlehem PD first-hand
Bethlehem PD has no shortage of people working day in and day out to make a difference in their community. Hear from them about what the technology has meant to them and the team.
Improving communications with an end-to-end solution
In law enforcement, sometimes there isn’t a substitute for voice communications. Bethlehem PD decided to invest in APX series two-way radios as well as Body Worn Cameras due to ease of use and reliability - without complication.
The value of capture technology in the prosecution of cases
The value of body-worn cameras to Bethlehem PD was immediately apparent - which one to go with wasn’t. Above all else, ensuring officers weren’t inhibited and they could do their jobs, the decision was easy.
Increase efficiency in chain of custody with digital evidence management
As the quantity of digital evidence grew, so too did manual processes and work-arounds for Bethlehem PD. CommandCentral Vault was a welcome change that made life easier for not only evidence techs, but officers in the field and prosecutors.
Hear more stories from Bethlehem PD
Developing policy, enabling transparency and promoting safety
Buying and deploying body-worn cameras isn’t enough. Bethlehem realized they needed a rock-solid policy and buy-in from the community to be successful.
Capture and send evidence securely through your smartphone
Realizing body-worn cameras were only another piece of the puzzle, the Capture app has become a critical tool for extending evidence capture abilities in the field.
Integrating with the first piece of our evidence system
Bethlehem PD had already deployed WatchGuard in-car cameras. With CommandCentral Vault, data silos are broken down and all evidence can be managed together.
We now have an ecosystem... that will enhance our emergency response in daily patrols, keep our officers connected and informed and enhance accountability with the public.
Where they were looking to go in the future really made sense to our police department which is progressive and wants to provide the best form of policing to our citizens.
