Can your home camera system help Bucks County police solve crimes? Here's how it works

Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times
Updated ·3 min read
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When a 64-year-old Bensalem man was seriously injured after he was struck and intentionally run over by an illegal dirt bike rider in early August, Bensalem police contacted local residents whose surveillance cameras are registered with the department.

Police hoped that the third-party footage might lead to the name of the suspect or location of his dirt bike.

Bensalem is among the Bucks County police departments with a camera registry program, which allows residents to voluntarily notify police about systems and lets police request footage when incidents happen nearby.

Some Bucks County police departments are encouraging homeowners to register their home camera systems with departments, which can be used to help with criminal investigations.
Some Bucks County police departments are encouraging homeowners to register their home camera systems with departments, which can be used to help with criminal investigations.

About 200 homes have registered cameras, according to Bensalem Detective Sgt. Glenn Vandegrift.  Since starting the registry last year, police have used it four times to assist with investigations, he said.

If a resident opts to share video it can be uploaded via a secure link directly into the department's digital evidence management system, Vandegrift said.  Police cannot “live view” residential cameras, he added.

To share security camera locations with the department visit https://bensalem.fususregistry.com. For more information, go to  https://connectbensalem.org/  On the website, only the “LEVEL 1” option pertains to the residential camera registry program.

Here is a list of other Bucks County Police departments where you can register a home camera surveillance system with police.

Bensalem police obtained surveillance camera footage of suspects in an assault on a 64-year-old man with a dirt bike. The department is among those that allow homeowners to register their camera systems to with criminal investigations
Bensalem police obtained surveillance camera footage of suspects in an assault on a 64-year-old man with a dirt bike. The department is among those that allow homeowners to register their camera systems to with criminal investigations

More on dirt bike assault in Bensalem Bensalem man in serious condition after he was run over by a dirt bike. What police know

More: Are illegal dirt bikes terrorizing your neighborhood? What police are doing about it.

Lower Makefield

Police started the Citizen’s Take Aim Against Crime program before 2018. Residents can register their cameras online by visiting the police website, https://www.lmt.org/public-safety/police/. They can submit all their information on the webform, and detectives are notified when a new camera is added.

New Britain Township

The township is one of the most recent departments to start a camera registry program. To register, visit bucks.crimewatchpa.com/newbritaintwppd/34878/webforms/camera-registry

Upper Makefield

The police department recently began offering camera system registration as part of the annual alarm registrations, Upper Makefield Officer Harry Vitello said.

On the alarm registration form, there is a section for residents to list if their residence has home surveillance devices. The information is then compiled into a list identifying which properties in the township have camera systems.

If a circumstance arises for which home surveillance footage would assist us in an investigation, officers can utilize that list to see if any cameras are in that area and then make contact with those residents to see if they would check their surveillance footage.  If footage is deemed as evidence, it will be processed and if not, it’s deleted, Vitello said.

Lower Southampton

The department has offered a camera registry since 2018 which is accessed through the department’s “Crimewatch” page, bucks.crimewatchpa.com/lowersouthamptontwppd. Videos with investigative value are retained, and retention time depends on the severity of the incident, Police Chief Ted Krimmel said. A new system the department is using has a feature for storing Ring type videos that should be operational soon, Krimmel said.

Newtown Township

The department has offered a camera registry since 2019 through its “Crimewatch” page, bucks.crimewatchpa.com/newtowntwppd/34824/webforms/camera-registry-form. The form collects basic contact information and details about the camera(s). It does not give police access to the footage but  provides a database of camera locations. If police want to review footage of a particular camera, the department would contact the home/business owner and they could then grant access or provide the relevant footage.

Bensalem police are looking to identify this man who was riding an unregistered motorcycle and popping wheelies and running stop signs in the Eddington section of Bensalem on Aug. 6, 2023. He then failed to pull over for emergency vehicles headed to a house fire.
Bensalem police are looking to identify this man who was riding an unregistered motorcycle and popping wheelies and running stop signs in the Eddington section of Bensalem on Aug. 6, 2023. He then failed to pull over for emergency vehicles headed to a house fire.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Home camera systems help police solve crimes in Bucks County