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www.BurlesonCrowley.com
Citizens hit the road on bikes
By By Danielle Novy/bcnews@trcle.com
Jul 23, 2008, 15:53
Half a dozen Burleson Citizens On Patrol members can now help both the city and the environment by conducting bicycle patrols.
The Burleson Police Department recently hosted its first bicycle certification course for civilians, and COP members have already started patrolling on their personal bikes rather than in their vehicles.
Becky Martin, Dave Martin, Meryl McClure, Rhonda Melton, Dana Mitchell and Vicki McElroy are the citizens now certified to patrol on their bikes.
BPD Officer Tim Engel, a certified police bicyclist who taught the course, said helping the environment is among the many benefits yielded by serving the city on a bike.
“Bicycles create no pollution and get unlimited miles per gallon,” he said. “The current cost of gas makes the bicycles a cost effective tool for patrol.”
The COPs members who completed the course will continue to pursue the same goals they always have — now they simply have the ability to cover more terrain, Engel said.
“The objective of the COPS program has not changed. They do not have any more power,” he said. “They still contribute to our efforts at community policing by being a proactive, visible deterrent to crime and assist the police department by providing extra eyes and ears in the community. The COPS bicycle patrol will focus on the city parks. The bicycles will allow them to patrol areas that are normally off limits to motor vehicles.”
COPs Coordinator Sgt. Diron Hill said the civilian members will concentrate on patrolling the more than a dozen parks in Burleson.
“The reason we started the COPS bike patrol was because the usage of the parks increase during the summer months, which means that the calls for service increases,” Hill said. “We just wanted extra ‘eyes and ears’ in the park to help us curtail illegal activity.”
The COPs members will be easily identifiable by their light blue polo shirts emblazoned with words “Citizens On Patrol.” All COPs members are required to wear bicycle safety helmets, according to a press release.
“On bicycles, the COPS members are able to make contact with more people as they are more approachable than when in their vehicles, and that helps build positive public relations with the citizens of Burleson,” Engel said. “The same applies to police officers; however, the bikes also allow for stealthy approaches, which can be used for covert activities or surveillance. The bikes are also useful for addressing specific problem areas. The COPS members are not to engage in contact with suspects.”
The certification is based on the International Police Mountain Bike Association Police Cyclist course, but the trainees are not certified through IPMBA, according to a press release.
Engel’s course covered safe-riding techniques, state traffic laws, basic riding skills, physical training methods, advanced riding skills, basic repair/ maintenance and first aid.
The four-hour class comprised two hours inside the classroom and two hours riding bikes, Engel said. All program attendees passed their tests — both written and practical — and worked through a skills course.
The course focused on safe operations, slow-speed maneuvers and braking techniques, according to a press release. There were seven events, which included the mount and dismount, slow-speed control, emergency braking, straight-line control, weaving, the S Turn and the Figure 8.
“All of the students enjoyed the class and reported that it was helpful,” Engel said.
Burleson residents are also excited about the new batch of COP cyclists, Hill said.
“During the first patrol by COPS members, they were met with an enthusiastic response from the community,” he said.
Still, COPs members will not be the only ones serving the city aboard bikes.
The Burleson Police Department already has three certified bicycle patrol officers who are sworn police officers. The trio played a role in encouraging COPs members to seek bike training.
“The Burleson Police Department has several certified police bicyclist, which motivated some of the COPS members,” Hill said. “They approached me and wanted to do patrols in parks. The idea was presented to [Police Chief Tom Cowan], and he recognized the unique benefit to the program and approved it. The department wanted some type of training for the volunteers before they were authorized to patrol on bikes so Officer Tim Engel developed the course to fit the needs of the program.”
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