Bensalem Officials Receiving Grant Money To Combat Crime Along Route 1 Hotel Corridor
BENSALEM, Pa. (CBS) -- Fighting back against crime in Bucks County. Grant money is being deployed to try and improve the situation. Authorities are targeting the Route 1 hotel corridor in Bensalem.
There are a number of hotels along the Route 1 strip in Bensalem. On Thursday, officials detailed their plan to stop prostitution, crime and drugs that plague this area.
Some 75,000 drivers travel this section of the Route 1 corridor per day. Township officials say they have seen the impact of crime along Route 1 and they've now secured the funds to help put it to an end.
"This money will directly fund undercover operations to combat drug trade, human trafficking and prostitution that unfortunately occurs right here in Bensalem Township," Rep. K.C. Tomlinson said.
"They'll be able to bring crime rates down in the area," Claudia Candidi said.
Director of Public Safety Fred Harran says Bensalem Township is home to 52% of hotel rooms in Bucks County, but they don't get any of the profits to offset the cost of services the hotels bring.
This $929,000 dollar grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development will enable the township to deploy additional tactics to reduce crime and combat the drug epidemic.
"We're going to put up different task forces to also work with the hotels," Harran said. "We partnered with a lot of these hotels. They don't want the police, they don't want overdoses in their hotels either. They don't want drug dealing and human trafficking in their hotels."
Due to the tremendous amount of EMS calls in the area, emergency responders and police will see the bulk of the funding. On the list is new equipment for EMS, including an ambulance. Law enforcement will also see some support.
"We're going to bring officers in on overtime basis, not to pull away from the 911 responses to our 64,000 residents here in Bensalem," Harran said.
"It's a good thing, I guess, to separate it so there's a group just focused on that," Ryan Pesciotta said.
That funding will roll out in the next few weeks. Changes will be implemented over the next two years.