The Berks-Lehigh Regional Police was a multi-jurisdictional police department in eastern Pennsylvania. The agency provided law enforcement services to four incorporated municipalities in Berks and Lehigh counties. In Berks County, the department served Topton, Lyons, and Maxatawny Township. In Lehigh County, Upper Macungie Township was served by the agency.
Through the formation of a police district under the control of a Police Commission, some municipalities in Pennsylvania have found that improved and more professional police services could be obtained through inter-governmental cooperation. Having one police department covering four neighboring communities, rather than four separate police departments, allows each municipality to enjoy the benefits of a larger department, such as specialized units and a professional staff.
Prior to January 1, 2001, the department was known as the Northeastern Berks Regional Police, as it only covered the three Berks County municipalities. The agency by this name existed between 1991 and 2001. When neighboring Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County joined the agency in 2001, the name was changed to Berks-Lehigh Regional Police.
On April 16, 2012, the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police announced it was disbanding at the end of 2012, with Upper Macungie Township forming its own police force. [1]
On December 28, 2012, it was announced Maxatawny Township would form its own police department. The new department would be led by one officer for the time being who would be in charge of ordinance enforcement and traffic studies, with the Pennsylvania State Police handling emergency calls and arrests in the township. A full-scale police department may be created in the future. [2] In a primary ballot in May, residents voted against establishing a police department with a two-mil tax increase. Maxatawny Township is currently served by the Pennsylvania State Police, Reading Barracks. The Pennsylvania State Police also serves Topton Borough and Lyons Borough.
Lehigh County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 374,557. Its county seat is Allentown, the state's third-largest city after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Berks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state.
Kutztown is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Allentown and 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Reading. As of the 2020 census, the borough had a population of 4,162. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is located just outside the borough limits to the southwest.
Longswamp Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,551 at the 2020 census.
Lyons is a borough that is located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 439 at the time of the 2020 census.
Maxatawny Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,906 at the 2010 census.
Topton is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,041 at the 2020 census.
Lower Macungie Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township's population was 31,964 as of the 2020 census, making it the second-largest population center in Lehigh County after Allentown and the third-largest population center in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area after Allentown and Bethlehem.
Macungie is borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States, its second oldest. As of the 2020 census, Macungie had a population of 3,257.
Upper Macungie Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population of Upper Macungie Township was 26,377 as of the 2020 U.S. census, making it the fourth-fastest growing municipality of any category in Pennsylvania in terms of total population growth between 2010 and 2020.
Upper Milford Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township's population was 7,292 at the 2010 census. Upper Milford Township is a rural area southwest of Allentown in the Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
Weisenberg Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population of Weisenberg Township was 4,923 at the 2010 U.S. census. The township is a suburb of Allentown in the Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
Breinigsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,495. The town is part of Upper Macungie Township and is located approximately 11 miles (18 km) southwest of downtown Allentown and 8 miles (13 km) east of Kutztown.
Maiden Creek is a 20.3-mile-long (32.7 km) tributary of the Schuylkill River in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The name "Maiden" is an English translation of the Native American word Ontelaunee. Maiden Creek is formed by the confluence of Ontelaunee and Kistler creeks in the community of Kempton. The tributary Sacony Creek joins at the community of Virginville.
Interstate 78 (I-78) is a major east–west Interstate Highway stretching from Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, in the west to the Holland Tunnel and New York City in the east. In Pennsylvania, I-78 runs for about 78 miles (126 km) from the western terminus at I-81 in Union Township east to the New Jersey state line near Easton in Northampton County.
Mertztown is a census-designated place in Longswamp Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It is located near the borough of Topton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 664 residents.
Hensingersville, also known as New Hensingersville, is an unincorporated community located mostly in southwestern Lower Macungie Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It also extends into Longswamp Township in Berks Township near the intersections of Pennsylvania Route 201, Pennsylvania Route 3001, Chestnut Road, and Reservoir Hill Road.
Swabia Creek is a tributary of Little Lehigh Creek in Berks and Lehigh Counties in the eastern Pennsylvania region of the Lehigh Valley.
Maxatawny is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located on U.S. Route 222 in Maxatawny Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, five miles east of Kutztown. It is in the Lehigh watershed and Schaefer Run flows through it to the Little Lehigh Creek. Maxatawny has a post office, with the ZIP code of 19538. Traffic speed on US 222 is reduced to 35 miles-per-hour passing through the village, which borders Lehigh County.