Atop their trusty Norco mountain bikes, Red Deer RCMP’s two-wheeled crime fighters have become a familiar site in town.
Whether cruising the trails or making their near-silent patrols through the downtown, the bike patrol has proven its value, say the men and women in uniform shorts providing the pedal power.
Const. Chris Kosack said bike patrols have been a good addition from both the enforcement and public relations aspects.
On the crime fighting front, the low-profile nature of bike patrols often works to the advantage of police.
“Sometimes people are always looking for just a police car so they may still be doing stuff that they’re not supposed to right in front of us.
“There’s been a few times that we’ve come across things and the guys said that they didn’t know that we were police officers. We’ve caught a few things in progress.”
Kosack said the public response has been good.
“People like to see us on the trail systems. They say it’s just good to see us out, kind of popping out in places where they don’t expect a police officer to be.”
While the main focus is typically on the trail system and the downtown core, the bike patrol may also get assigned to cruise an area where there has been a rash of break-ins or vandalism.
Officers must apply to get on the bike squad.
They submit a resume and there is an interview process where senior officers pick the ones who will get a ride for the summer. There’s a week-long course riders must take before they can mount up.
There will be up to seven bike patrol officers rolling through city streets and trails this summer.
Sometimes only a pair are out, but other times like Canada Day, all available pedallers were on the job at some point.
Bike patrol officers run nine-hour shifts. They hit the streets pretty much every day that weather allows from May to October.
Kosack said the first couple of days can be a little hard on the body, but riders soon adjust to the 40- to 60-km patrols they put in each shift.
Const. Scott Hansen said you see a lot more on the streets from a bike seat.
“What you can’t see from a car, you can see from a bike.
“It’s easier to get around the downtown core, through alleys and it’s quicker to get through traffic and stuff like that.”
He has also seen the law enforcement advantages. “Oh yeah, we find stuff in places where you can’t get in cars.”
He has also seen how well the bike patrol goes over with the public. “Everybody loves us on the bike,” he said. Kids love to say hi to the police officers, who usually have stickers or other things to hand out to their young fans.
“We’re always out there on the trail. (The public) love see us walking around making sure that everything is safe.”
The cons are few, although Hansen was faced with a flat as he patrolled Bower Ponds on Canada Day.
But after a quick fix, he was going to be heading out again.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com