Police - FAQs

You must call the administrative office at 610-814-6426 Monday through Friday 8am to 430pm, or stop in during those times. Incident reports are $10. Accident reports are $15.

*Please note:
Incident reports can be obtained at the administrative office, however, all accident reports must now be obtained HERE.

Vigilance requests can be made for extra patrols while out of town, etc. Contact the call the administrative office at 610-814-6426 Monday through Friday 8am to 430pm, or stop in during those times at least one business day prior to your departure.

If the suspicious activity you are witnessing is in-progress or witnessed at an earlier time, report it to us by calling Northampton County Dispatch Center’s non-emergency line at 610-759-2200. If the suspicious activity appears to be endangering someone’s property or life, dial 911 immediately.

If paying by check or money order, use the ticket mailer, attach a stamp, and mail it to:

Bethlehem Township Police Department
4225 Easton Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18020

If you would like to pay in person or use cash, you must come to the administrative office at the above address Monday through Friday 8am to 430pm.

Parking fines are set at $10.00 if paid within 72 hours, and $20.00 if paid between 72 hours and 10 days, for all violations except Handicap Parking violations, which are $50.00 if paid within 72 hours, and $75.00 if paid between 72 hours and 10 days. After 10 days, a state citation is issued and additional costs will be assessed.

If you wish to contest a parking ticket, either contact the issuing police officer or do not pay within ten days, and a state citation will be filed. When you receive your copy of the citation from the Magisterial District Judge’s office, follow the instructions on the back to request a hearing with the Magisterial District Judge.

It’s important to note that you MUST respond to the citation within ten days, or a warrant will be issued. Bethlehem Township is within Magisterial District 03-2-03. That district’s office is located at

3650 Nazareth Pike
Unit 2
Bethlehem, PA 18020

If you received a citation within Bethlehem Township, follow the directions on the citation for response. If paying the citation, mail or delivery the bottom portion with your plea to the above address. If contesting the citation, sign on the “not guilty” line and return the bottom portion with collateral to the above address. If you have additional questions or would like to inquire about a payment plan, call the district’s office at 610-746-9740.

If the traffic citation was not issued in Bethlehem Township, check the top of the citation for the appropriate Magisterial District office’s address and forward you plea and payment there.

Lastly, payments for all citations issued in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania can also be paid online at: http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/ePay.aspx

If you received a traffic warning notice, AND the officer indicated that you must correct a defect and show proof (ie- an expired registration or an inoperable headlamp), you can report to

Department Headquarters
4225 Easton Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18020

If you report after regular business hours, pick up the black telephone outside the door and an Officer will be with you momentarily to verify your compliance.

If you fail to show proof that you corrected a defect within the time allotted on the warning notice (usually five days), the issuing officer will then file a traffic citation for the offense(s).

Contact the Northampton County Dispatch Center’s non-emergency line at 610-759-2200 to report the lost dog. You will provide a description of the dog to the dispatcher who will enter the information in a log.

Should your dog be found by a police agency in the county, that record will be checked. Also consider calling the Center for Animal Health and Welfare at 610-252-7722 to report your dog lost as well. If you find your dog, we ask that you kindly call the dispatch center back so your dog can be taken out of the log.

Yes! We use our microchip readers on all found dogs in an effort to find their way back home as quick as possible. Consider having one placed in your pet, but remember if you move, to update the record with the chip’s manufacturer!

By the way, if your dog is microchipped, you’re eligible to purchase a lifetime dog license at a discounted cost. If your dog is found and handled by our Department, there is a $25.00 fee that will be assessed when the dog is returned.

Every dog in Pennsylvania needs to be licensed. The cost of the license depends on if it is spayed/neutered and microchipped/tattooed. Licenses are available at the Northampton County courthouse, at the Northampton County Human Services building here in Bethlehem Township at 2801 Emrick Boulevard, Bethlehem, PA, or at multiple sub-offices throughout the county.

Yes, and have for years. Often times the police are on scene first at an emergency, and in an effort to save lives, each patrol vehicle carries an AED (automated external defibrillator) with both adult and child pads, an extensive medical kit, and of course, a police officer who is trained and receives continual update training on first aid and CPR.

All of our vehicles are equipped with in-car video systems, both recording out the front and in the rear seat. But some of our vehicles are equipped with external cameras. Those cameras are automated license plate reading cameras. They are hooked into the vehicle’s computer system, and compares all read plates against a hotlist, searching for stolen vehicles, stolen plates, Amber Alert vehicles, wanted person’s vehicles, expired registrations, and suspended registrations. They can read about 1500 plates per second, any time of day or night in any weather condition.

Complainants against a member of this Department can be logged in person, by U.S. Mail, E-mail, or by phone at any time. To obtain contact information, please visit the contact page . When feasible, you will be asked to complete and sign a “Complaint Against Department Member” form. Every complaint is investigated to the extent possible.

You can complement an Officer many ways. If you know who the officer is, you can visit the contact page and thank him through a method listed there. If you do not know who the Officer is, consider writing a letter to the Chief of Police about the service received. Be sure to include enough information in the letter so the Chief can extend the compliment to the appropriate Officer.

Yes! Visit us at: www.facebook.com/BethlehemTownshipPoliceDept

Yes! Follow us at: https://twitter.com/BethlehemTwpPD

Yes! Subscribe to alerts here: http://local.nixle.com/township-of-bethlehem/

A quick snapshot of this Department activity the past few years:
2021 – 8456 incidents, 734 crashes, 383 arrests
2020 – 8015 incidents, 600 crashes, 302 arrests
2019 – 8644 incidents, 809 crashes, 370 arrests
2018 – 7561 incidents, 784 crashes, 347 arrests
2017: 7347 incidents, 810 accidents, 454 arrests
2016: 8112 incidents, 919 accidents, 482 arrests
2015: 8187 incidents, 836 accidents, 400 arrests
2014: 7960 incidents, 760 accidents, 464 arrests
2013: 7237 incidents, 741 accidents, 498 arrests.

Yes. If you own or operate a business in Bethlehem Township and would like to provide the police department and 911 center with emergency/after-hours contact information, please download this FORM. Complete the form and return it to the Bethlehem Township Police Department during business hours.