Credit: Amanda Kuehnle/LevittownNow.com
The Falls Township Board of Supervisors are considering an ordinance that could increase safety for its police department.
Officials announced they are currently considering an ordinance that would require hotel occupants to show valid identification prior to renting a room at hotels in the township. The supervisors unanimously voted to authorize the advertisement this month and will consider enacting it during their March 21 meeting.
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If the ordinance is adopted, the township’s eight hotels would be required to maintain a hotel registration book and keep records available. The records could be turned over to police under court order or subpoena for up to three years.
The ordinance would help police officers in tracking down suspects much easier, Board Chairman Bob Harvie said, referencing the murder of a woman in a hotel room several years ago. The hotel had no record of the person who had been staying with her. “It made the job of the police department that much harder,” he said. “This would be something that would help our officers.”
A similar ordinance was enacted in Bensalem three years ago and has proven successful in limiting transients of motels and hotels.
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According to Township Attorney Lauren Gallagher, municipalities have seen a decrease in the number of raucous parties in hotel rooms and are seeing fewer instances of numerous people staying in one room.
