How Bike Patrols Can Improve Campus Safety
Public safety cyclists model safe cycling behavior for students, effectively manage crowds at sporting events and augment campus community policing efforts.
Police and security officers can patrol campuses on bicycles all year long -- even in the winter. Photo courtesy IPMBA
In the spring of 2011, Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) basketball team advanced to “The Final Four.” Twice during VCU’s run, students used the games as an excuse to cause trouble. After their final loss to Butler University, a large group of students gathered around campus. A small group started fires and set off fireworks. What followed were assorted acts of violence and property destruction by a few people. It was made worse and more dangerous by the larger group there to egg them on.
VCU Police employed many of their resources, including bike teams, to control the crowds and violence. Even without specialized training and tactics, the bikes proved effective, but not nearly as effective as they could have been with adequate numbers and the specialized BRT methods available through the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA).
Officers Must Receive Training
There may be some truth to the old saying “It’s just like riding a bike”, but when it comes to the level of skill required of public safety cyclists, the fact is that cycling skills are perishable. If you don’t use or practice them, you will lose them. And if you were never trained how to perform the skills needed to ride a public safety bike professionally, that adage simply doesn’t apply.
Check out our photo gallery: Where to Deploy Bike Patrols
Just as civilian driving and emergency vehicle operation are different, so too is police/security cycling different from regular bike riding. Officers need to be able to ride safely and legally in all types of traffic conditions. They must to be able to ride slowly and precisely through crowds of people, on sidewalks (where legal and when necessary) and through parking areas. They must be able to negotiate urban obstacles, ride up and down curbs and stairs, and avoid a seemingly endless variety of hazards. Proper training reduces the risk of falls and injuries to both the cyclists and those around them. It teaches them how to employ the bicycle tactically and technically in a wide range of scenarios.
Without training, bike officers are likely to ride around like other cyclists, doing mostly public relations and getting exercise. Once they know how to use the “tool” effectively, good, self-motivated officers will use it to its utmost advantage.
As many college a
nd university public safety agencies have already discovered, a campus is the near perfect environment for police/security bikes, and bikes are the near-perfect vehicle for both routine patrol and rapid response. The positive contacts officers experience on bike patrol are a benefit no other patrol vehicle can duplicate. Take a look around a college campus for even a little while and you learn what the others there have figured out – bikes are the answer.
Related Articles:
- Photo Gallery: Where to Deploy Bike Patrols
- Operation Bait Bike
- 10 Advantages of Bicycle Patrols
- Adelphi U. DPS Bike Patrol
- Changing Game Day Culture
Kirby Beck is past president and member of the board of directors for the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA). IPMBA is a non-profit group whose sole purpose is to assist, support and train public safety cyclists. They offer training for both new and experienced police, EMS and security cyclists. They also make available a “Start-Up Kit” for agencies new to public safety cycling, which offers guidance on policies, equipment and uniform selection, and more. Another excellent resource is the book, The Complete Guide to Public Safety Cycling, published by Jones and Bartlett Learning. There is a link to the book and many other resources at www.IPMBA.org. Beck can be reached at kirby@kbeckconsulting.com.
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