Bensalem Township Police Department

Bensalem Police Department
Abbreviation	BPD
Motto	Protect with Honor, Serve with Pride
Agency overview
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania of Bucks County in the state of Pennsylvania, United States
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Bensalem Township Municipal Building 2400 Byberry Rd
Police Officers	100+
Agency executive	Frederick Harran, Director of Public Safety
Departments	List Patrol Division Motor Patrol Division k-9 Accident Investigation Criminal Investigations Special Victims Unit Special Investigations Unit SWAT Honor Guard PAL Explorers Townwatch
Website
Official Site
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Bensalem Police Department is the police department in Bensalem Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1951. The department has about 100 sworn officers and fifty support employees. It is one of the fifteen largest police departments in Pennsylvania.

Present-day Bensalem Police Department

The department is led by a director, currently, Frederick Harran. The department’s staff includes a deputy director and five sworn officers in the rank of lieutenant.

Divisions

The department includes a number of divisions;

Patrol Division, with about 64 officers.

Motor Patrol, with five officers who use motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

K-9 with five officers handling five dogs.

Accident Investigation with a dozen officers headed by a lieutenant.

Criminal Investigation, with a dozen officers and a civilian employee.

Special Victims’ Unit with five officers who focus on crimes against children.

Special Investigations Unit seven officers and two additional police dogs.

SWAT

Honor Guard ten officers who support ceremonial functions.

Explorers, a branch of the Boy Scouts of America

Police Athletic League

Communications

Townwatch

History

Established in 1951 when Bensalem Township had 11,500 residents, the Bensalem Police began with one car and two police officers. By the 1970s, the department had grown rapidly numbering about 29 officers.Over the years, the department has retired over 28 police dogs, and has grown to over 100 officers. It has become the largest police department in Bucks County, ranking in the top 15 in Pennsylvania.

Officers killed

Officer	Date of death	Details
James Kenneth Armstrong	15 April 1975	Shot [1]
Robert N. Yezzi	12 August 1980	Struck by car [1]

1. Officer Down Memorial Page, retrieved 15 January 2013