What do you know about Bike Cops?

An article yesterday on Philly Bike Police Officers helping patrol the G20 inspired me to read more about Bicycle Police programs. I'm probably not the only one who passes by Bike Police Offices without really thinking anything about them.

But lately, I've become really interested in the idea of police on bicycles. Ok, fine...I have to admit that my interest is partly because I find the idea of a high speed bicycle chase really exciting. Imagine a movie-style chase scene, full of explosions and crazy stunts, except instead of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover crashing through office buildings in a car, they're on bikes! The closest video that I found on YouTube was this cool bicycle chase through the alleys of Bangalore.

So I looked into whether 'high speed chases' are in the Bicycle Police Office handbook. The International Police Mountain Bike Association, a non-profit that provides "the best, most complete training for public safety bicyclists", lists some of the skills that are important for Police cyclists. No crashing through buildings, but the skills that these officers learn are still impressive:

• Maneuvering through heavy traffic and advanced low speed maneuvers;
• How to ascend and descend curbs, stairs, and other environmental obstacles;
• Knowing what tactics to use in a pursuit and how to dismount quickly and perform an arrest or fire their sidearm;
• Offensive and Defensive Measures like the bike as a barrier, foot pursuits, use of force, and weapon retention drills.

But being a Bicycle Police Officer is about more than just cool bike skills. The G20 article gets at one of the main strategic reasons for Police Officers on bicycles: they are able to navigate busy urban areas like traffic snarls and large crowds, which keep police in cars from being effective (such as the crowds expected in Pittsburgh this weekend). Bicycles often have an advantage in these city environments, where suspects can slip away through traffic, down alleys, into the urban landscape.

An essay by a professor at Babson College, The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Bicycle Police, highlights three main strategic reasons for Bicycle-mounted Police, including the one listed above: 1) navigating urban areas; 2) the open nature of the bicycle that makes bike patrol officers more in touch with their surroundings and more approachable by citizens; and 3) the ubiquitous nature of the bicycle allows it to travel most anywhere, largely unnoticed. "These advantages of bicycle patrol suggest that it is now more than a periodic fad," writes Professor Petty, "and should be considered a permanent part of police patrol and travel tactics".

So what is the life of a Bicycle Police Officer like? And what kind of stories do they have? Check back for more info soon, while I search for a Bike Cop to interview (maybe I'll get to learn some of those Bike Police skills...)


For more information, read the Brief History of Police Cycling which was above, as well as an informative article about the essay from the Bicycle Transportation Examiner. And the photos in this post come from this action-packed slideshow from Examiner.com.