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Bicycle
Cops
Cops
In the mid 1970's, the Baltimore Police Department
purchased nine 10sp bicycles for each of its nine police
districts. One police officer from each district was chosen
for a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of the
bicycles in the patrol function. Training consisted of each
officer's assurance that he could ride a two wheeled
bicycle. Accessories consisted of...well...nothing. There
were no helmets or specially designed uniforms. The
pilot program provided the obvious conclusions. The
bicycle officer was mobile. He could move a lot faster,
and with less physical effort, than an officer on foot. He
could traverse over walkways and through narrow alleys
where an automobile couldn't go. However, there was
one major problem. Those 10sp bicycles of that time
simply weren't up to the task of surviving those curbs
and steps so frequently encountered in an urban
environment. It would be another twenty years, before
the bicycle cop would come of age in a meaningful way.
Today...you'll see police officers professionally and
appropriately attired and operating some pretty
sophisticated bicycles. The training has also become
sophisticated. To the right...I've linked you to the
International Police Mountain Bike Association. It's
quite a good web site, and if you like the idea of spending
a portion of your police career patrolling atop a bicycle,
this is a web site you must visit.
If you begin your police career patrolling a high crime
urban area, you'll frequently hear residents of that area
calling for the return to police foot patrol. There's still a
lot of people around who remember police officers
walking beats. There's no question that police officers
walking beats is the most effective form of patrol;
however, it's far from the most efficient due to simple
geography. A single motorized officer can cover a far
larger area of patrol than a foot officer.
One would think that bicycle cops would be the perfect
median between foot and motorized police officers. The
bicycle cops have the mobility while possessing the same
up close and personal aspect of the foot patrolmen of
yesteryear. While nearly every police department of any
size will have a bicycle unit(s), few police commanders
view bicycles as a significant tactical resource let alone a
strategic one. Even though cops on bikes is obviously
part of a police department's patrol resource, these
bicycle units are rarely fully integrated into the patrol
functions. You'll soon learn that the biggest difference
between you, the patrol officer, and everybody else is that
you're the only one who routinely answers calls for
service. When bicycle officers are deployed tactically,
that deployment is usually temporary, and its primary
purpose is omnipresence.
purchased nine 10sp bicycles for each of its nine police
districts. One police officer from each district was chosen
for a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of the
bicycles in the patrol function. Training consisted of each
officer's assurance that he could ride a two wheeled
bicycle. Accessories consisted of...well...nothing. There
were no helmets or specially designed uniforms. The
pilot program provided the obvious conclusions. The
bicycle officer was mobile. He could move a lot faster,
and with less physical effort, than an officer on foot. He
could traverse over walkways and through narrow alleys
where an automobile couldn't go. However, there was
one major problem. Those 10sp bicycles of that time
simply weren't up to the task of surviving those curbs
and steps so frequently encountered in an urban
environment. It would be another twenty years, before
the bicycle cop would come of age in a meaningful way.
Today...you'll see police officers professionally and
appropriately attired and operating some pretty
sophisticated bicycles. The training has also become
sophisticated. To the right...I've linked you to the
International Police Mountain Bike Association. It's
quite a good web site, and if you like the idea of spending
a portion of your police career patrolling atop a bicycle,
this is a web site you must visit.
If you begin your police career patrolling a high crime
urban area, you'll frequently hear residents of that area
calling for the return to police foot patrol. There's still a
lot of people around who remember police officers
walking beats. There's no question that police officers
walking beats is the most effective form of patrol;
however, it's far from the most efficient due to simple
geography. A single motorized officer can cover a far
larger area of patrol than a foot officer.
One would think that bicycle cops would be the perfect
median between foot and motorized police officers. The
bicycle cops have the mobility while possessing the same
up close and personal aspect of the foot patrolmen of
yesteryear. While nearly every police department of any
size will have a bicycle unit(s), few police commanders
view bicycles as a significant tactical resource let alone a
strategic one. Even though cops on bikes is obviously
part of a police department's patrol resource, these
bicycle units are rarely fully integrated into the patrol
functions. You'll soon learn that the biggest difference
between you, the patrol officer, and everybody else is that
you're the only one who routinely answers calls for
service. When bicycle officers are deployed tactically,
that deployment is usually temporary, and its primary
purpose is omnipresence.
The Complete
Guide to
Police Cycling
covers topics
such as the
history of police
cycling, how to
start a public
safety unit, bikes,
equipment and
uniforms,
vehicular cycling,
technical cycling,
patrol
procedures,
bicycle law
enforcement, and
much, much,
more. At 256
pages, and with
over 130
photographs,
The Complete
Guide is
available by
contacting
info@ipmba.org
or 410-744-2400.
Guide to
Police Cycling
covers topics
such as the
history of police
cycling, how to
start a public
safety unit, bikes,
equipment and
uniforms,
vehicular cycling,
technical cycling,
patrol
procedures,
bicycle law
enforcement, and
much, much,
more. At 256
pages, and with
over 130
photographs,
The Complete
Guide is
available by
contacting
info@ipmba.org
or 410-744-2400.
ts
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