Lehigh teams up with Bethlehem police to expand bike patrols

Lehigh Interim President Kevin Clayton and Lehigh Police Chief Ed Shupp joined with Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez in announcing expanded bike patrols for the summer months in South Side Bethlehem. Also on hand at the early-June press conference was Bethlehem Police Chief Mark DiLuzio, who said that the city is recommitting itself to the patrols that put more officers in closer contact with community members.

“Mobility, visibility and communication are key points to this program,” DiLuzio said. “Foot patrols, bike patrols, and getting people out of cars talking to people is what works in a community.”

LUPD officers will work side-by-side with Bethlehem officers along the Fourth Street corridor, which includes the business district, neighborhoods around campus and the Greenway. Their patrol will extend as far as the Sands Casino. The casino’s security officers will continue to patrol that property, as far over as the SteelStacks area, and South Side’s community ambassadors will also provide coverage in the business district, DiLuzio said.

Currently, LUPD bike officers are on patrol every day until 3 a.m., Shupp said. The bike patrol has been active for the past eight years, and has been extremely successful in adding another layer of security in South Side neighborhoods, and in building critical relationships with residents.

“We will do whatever we can to enhance safety in that area,” Shupp said.

Clayton noted that the news is filled with instances where “miscommunication or lack of communication has led to unrest and violence. We want to keep the lines of communication open for everyone, and this latest initiative will help.”

The expanded bike patrols are the latest in a series of collaborative efforts between Lehigh and the city. At the start of the past academic year, Clayton and Donchez joined with Shupp in pledging continued cooperation and dedication to a safer city through programs such as the installation of more surveillance cameras in the neighborhoods surrounding Lehigh, interoperability between city and university surveillance systems, the addition of new beat-patrol officers, increased weekend patrols, and the Emergensee app Lehigh made available to students, staff and faculty last August.

Clayton underscored the university’s ongoing commitment to safety at this announcement, saying there is no higher priority.

“Lehigh is not an island unto itself,” he said. “We are embedded in the community of South Bethlehem. We are part of the fiber of this place…. Our collaborative efforts have far-reaching impacts in South Bethlehem.”

Clayton also praised Donchez and credited him with improved relationships between the university and the city. “In all my dealings with Mayor Donchez,” Clayton said, “I found him to be a man of integrity, a man who is committed to doing the right thing, and a consummate gentleman.”

There are no additional costs associated with the expansion, officials said, as existing staff and resources are being redeployed.  The Bethlehem Police Department currently has 19 bikes and 60 trained bicycle officers, and Lehigh’s police force has 10 bikes for 12 trained bicycle officers.

Photos by Lori Friedman