BUMP (current employee, Patrolman) said 8 months ago:

Strong leadership from most Sgts., a few Lts., and very little from there up. Pay is getting better. The City overall is in a bit of a developement boom which should be interesting to be a part of over the next 10 or so years. The Department is very top heavy in direct line supervisors(Sgts.) with 4 for each days/middles platoon while on average a platoon will roll out with about 8-14 patrol officers for shift. There is a strong possiblity for lateral movement into a specialized field(i.e. Crime Scene, Investigations, Bike Patrol...) while at a patrolman rank.

IAMIRONMAN (current employee, patrolman) said 8 months ago:

The Bethlehem Police Department has newly implented a concept of community based policing. The officers who were strictly part of the Community Police Unit/Bike Patrol have been mixed in with regular patrol platoons. Now the responsibility lies on all police officers to adhere to a community policing ideal. In the City exists 4 sub-stations to which certain officers has been assigned. This area designates those particular officer's area of responsibility. Our officers can still be sent to calls all over the City, but when it comes to handling any Commubity Related Policing Issues, the area an officer is assigned to is their area of responsibility. The department is small with 150 sworn members, but has many areas in which an officer could focus such as, ERT, Investigation Unit, CSU, Bike Patrol, Traffic/Collision Reconstructionist, Vice, DPU, and K9. The City has been in the process and will continue to equip its officers with the latest in technology from new CODY software used in the patrol vehicle computer system, in-car cameras for all vehicles, patrol rifles for qualified officers, and ballistic panels in the new cruisers. The rate of pay, however is one of the lowest in the Lehigh Valley. But hopefully with Bethlehem Steel property giving way to a new Sands Casino and many other forms of entertainment centers, and shopping malls, there would be room for improvement in the hiring of more officers and increase in salaries. Bethlehem is a good place to work and employs a decent group of hard working individuals. Bethlehem is also considered to be one of the safest cities to live according to its size and population. But, Bethlehem still has the problems of many bigger cities such as, gang violence, drugs, theft, and violent crime.