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Politics & Government

Harran: Major Crime Continues to Fall This Year

Public safety director tells business group that Philly police, Parx Casino good partners

Facts and figures were flying fast and furious Wednesday night as Public Safety Director Fred Harran addressed about 20 members of the Bensalem Business Association.

Early on, Harran provided information he's probably most proud of.

“Over the last five years, we've had a steady decrease in what we call Part 1 crimes, which are our major crimes,” he said. “We continue to show a decrease every year in those crimes.”

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Harran later elaborated by telling Patch that in the first six months of this year the township has seen the following decreases as compared to all of 2010:

--burglary, 22 percent;

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--thefts from cars, 21 percent;

--thefts of cars, 11 percent;

--robbery, 13 percent;

--assault 6 percent; and

--theft, 2 percent.

“People always ask me 'What's your biggest problem?' The biggest problem here is Philadelphia,” Harran told those assembled at Philadelphia Private Gym on Bristol Pike.

“Two years ago when SEPTA was on strike, our crime rate plumetted for those three or our four days SEPTA was on strike because the criminals weren't coming up.”

At the same time, he said the Philadelphia Police Department is a “great partner” in fighting crime.

Another good partner, Harran said, is Parx Casino.

“There's been really no ancillary crime from the casino … The crime we're seeing at the casino is on casino grounds,” he said in a reference to gamblers who have left children in vehicles in the parking lots.

Harran said he feels certain the same thing happens outside other casinos but Parx has gotten “bad press” because the township police department is “aggressively dealing with it.”

“We look at it as a serious problem and the casino looks at it as a serious problem,” he said.

Parx has added its own patrols in their lots, and this year there have been three such incidents as compared to nine last year, he added.

Harran said the township has an active narcotics unit, with five employees assigned to it, and cocaine is a growing problem because the price has dropped from $110 to $70 a gram.

The township also utilizes seven K-9s, two of which are trained to find drugs, he said.

Talking and answering questions for about 45 minutes, Harran also touted the Towns Against Graffiti (TAG) program. Among other things, the program has prisoners from Bucks County Correctional Center cleaning up the township, he explained. Harran said anyone who calls the township with complaints about litter will see it cleaned up within two days at no cost.

He also praised the Police Athletic/Activities League, which among other things has more than 250 youngsters involved in its basketball program.

“We're the only municipality in Bucks County to have an active PAL league,” he said.

Harran said the township is looking to expand the program to include street hockey. And, he said, funding is being sought to open a small building for PAL.

Other facts and figures shared by Harran included:

--the police and fire departments have an annual budget of close to $23 million;

--the police department has a little more than 100 officers, including 19 hired in 2006 after Parx Casino opened;

--while the township resident population is about 62,000, the “estimated daytime population” including employees, is about 300,000;

--half of the hotels and motels in Bucks County are in Bensalem, totaling about 18; and

--there are 33 apartment complexes in the township.

“It's a busy, busy town, and that's OK,” said Harran. “It's a good thing.”

 

 

 

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