ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Allentown Police Department is set to soon land grants of more than $1.5 million to bolster its technologies.
City council is expected to approve two bills Wednesday to accept funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency on behalf of the police department.
The first bill will see the department net $385,000 to reimburse its purchase of fingerprint readers, license-plate scanners and gunshot-detection technology, which was activated earlier this year.
The second provides more than $1.18 million for the department to buy a slew of new cameras for its vehicles and officers, while upgrading about 175 cameras across the city to provide high-definition surveillance video, according to Police Chief Charles Roca.
"We want to be sure to keep up with the latest technology so that we can provide the best service that we can." But technology “does not replace … input and feedback from the community.”Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca
Those purchases are part of the department’s push “to make sure that our officers have the best tools and equipment,” Roca told LehighValleyNews.com.
“We want to be sure to keep up with the latest technology so that we can provide the best service that we can,” he said.
But technology “does not replace … input and feedback from the community,” Roca said.
“I still very much want our community to know that they are an integral part of this,” he said, urging them to report crimes via 911, email or the APD tip line.
Gunshot tech
Allentown police officials secured a $600,000 grant last year to buy ShotSpotter-like gunshot-detection technology to cover one square mile of the city.
Police contracted with Flock Safety for a surveillance system — known as Raven — that the company says can triangulate gunshots and send officers toward them in about a minute.
Roca said Tuesday he’s seen immediate impacts since activating the technology, which he has called “life-changing.”
The Raven system “has been well-received by our police officers” and has “been very instrumental to resolving some crime, bringing some people to justice” in Allentown and other local municipalities, Roca said.
But Allentown police have faced some criticism from residents over the system.
One resident told council members he is “concerned about the expansion of the surveillance state,” while others have urged Allentown officials to find funding for violence-prevention efforts.
Neil Singh said the gunshot-detection technology is similar to what he uses as a wildlife biologist, calling it a “very invasive form of monitoring and policing in the community.”
“This is a technology that's often used to monitor bird populations,” Singh said. “I'm kind of astounded that it's being used in this capacity to monitor the people of Allentown."
Roca said in January the Allentown Police Department planned to publish an online dashboard showing city crime statistics. City staff are working “to make this dashboard a reality,” he said Tuesday, though no date has been set for its launch.
The department also installed license-plate readers throughout the city this year with grant money from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
New cameras
A seven-figure grant from the commission will pay for hundreds of cameras in Allentown.
“Some of those cameras have been in existence for almost over a decade already, so the picture quality isn't that great."Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca
The department is switching to a new vendor for its body-worn cameras after several years, and it plans to upgrade its 175 or so cameras to capture footage in 4K, Roca said.
“Some of those cameras have been in existence for almost over a decade already, so the picture quality isn't that great,” he said, noting they often produce “grainy” footage and photos.
Allentown police vehicles will also get upgraded camera systems that will “tie in” to officers’ body-worn cameras, according to Roca.
The chief said Allentown officers have used body-worn cameras since 2015.
