‘Keeps me up at night’: There's a new drug of choice in Bethlehem, police chief says

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Within weeks of Bethlehem City Council approving the police department joining a state drug trafficking task course, Police Chief Michelle Kott said Tuesday there’s an illegal drug now overshadowing opioids locally.

“Methamphetamine is the one thing that keeps me up at night that our city has seen an incredible increase in,” Kott told City Council during her police budget hearing.

“Primarily, it is taking over as the drug of choice in the city.”

Over the past year, the five-person Bethlehem vice unit has seized $2.75 million, along with:

• 35,398 grams of methamphetamine 
• 13,607 grams of k2
• 11,889 pills
• 9,097 grams of cocaine
• 8,624 grams of marijuana and 25 pot plants
• 4,637 grams of fentanyl
• 505 grams of heroin
• 203 grams of MDMA
• 15 firearms and one vehicle

Kott said “a large amount” of the total meth — which is believed to primarily be coming from out of the country — was seized during one investigation.

Attributing better public education on the dangers of illegal drug use and potential overdosing involved, Kott also said the crackdown on fentanyl and heroin over the years has “caused a shift.”

On 27 occasions this past year, BPD officers have administered Naloxone, a medication used to reverse an overdose, to someone in need.

Regarding major meth production in the area, the chief said her department hasn’t seen any significant concerns of the sort.

Any money seized by the vice unit goes to county or federal law enforcement entities to be dispersed from there, Kott said.

Crime is down

As a whole, total violent crime, total property crime and total public-order and alcohol-related crime is down in the city, Kott said.

Other highlights from her budget hearing (see page 139) include:

• Nearly 500 referrals for the Community Connections program, connecting residents with services for unmet needs
• Completing 69 case referrals for the Handled with Care program from 2023-24; school staff are alerted that the child was involved in some sort of police-related incident at home prior to that particular school day. “Basically, just the teacher and the counselor are alerted and no details, but at least then the counselor can check in with the student,” said Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith, who works as a counselor at Easton Area High School. “It’s a great program.”
• 671 citations over the past five months for illegally passing school buses
• 100 referrals for theImpact Project, a diversionary option for first-time juvenile offenders — 42 successful, 18 referred back to BPD for arrest and 40 juveniles still awaiting disposition, Kott said.
• Musikfest saw 1,020,000 total attendees; 125 total incidents and offenses (usually medical calls); a slight decrease in observed offenses; and 28 total arrests. That’s comparable to 2022 and 2023, Kott said.

Filling holes in the ranks

The city police department currently has 10 vacancies and three retirements on the horizon, all with the means for 154 officers.

Those available for duty amount to 136, with some serving military deployments or pursuing training, for example.

This past year, BPD hired three new police officers. One is graduating from the academy next month and another is being hired at that time.

It’s a multi-month process, even following the academy, to get the officer ready for the field, Kott said.

The department is taking applications through Jan. 3 for its next hiring cycle. The current collective bargaining agreement is up at the end of 2026.

“There are struggles across the county in law enforcement trying to recruit qualified applicants, but it’s something that we are not going to take laying down,” Kott said.

“We are going to do everything in our power to try to get the best-caliber candidates to come here to the city of Bethlehem.”

Councilman Bryan Callahan said, “Our police officers are very professional in how they handle themselves.”