Barre’s Civilian Bike Patrol helps police in summer
By Eric Blaisdell, The Barre Montpelier Times Argus, June 25, 2015
Photo by Toby Talbot: The Barre Police Department summer interns pose with their bicycles at the police station. From left, Hunter D’Agostino, Amos Gaylord, Connor Moore and Markie Delude.
BARRE — The “bees” are back in the Granite City and this year’s group is happy with the experience they are getting on the job.
The formal title of the group, affectionately referred to around town as bees, is the Civilian Bike Patrol, comprised mostly of Norwich University students or young adults looking for summer work who have an interest in law enforcement. They aren’t police officers and are armed only with radios and pepper spray. They wear yellow and black polo shirts — hence the nickname — and patrol the city on bikes.
The bees’ main responsibility is to keep an eye out for criminal activity and report any incidents back to the police station.
Markie Delude will be starting her second year this fall at Norwich, where she is studying criminal justice. Delude is also a member of the Corps of Cadets at Norwich.
Delude said she is looking into a military career, the Coast Guard or the Air Force, and for her this is the perfect summer job.
“I love getting exercise. I love being able to work with people throughout the city. I love the fact that I’m getting experience in this field so I know later on if I want to do this type of work,” she said.
The bees received training in late May in such areas as how to work with people who are mentally ill, juveniles or the elderly. They were also taught how to spot abuse during the 50-hour training session before being officially deployed earlier this month.
Delude said her experience so far has been interesting as she gets to see different people in different situations.
Connor Moore is the lone bee of the four who isn’t considering either a military career or one in law enforcement. Moore graduated from Spaulding High School earlier this month and will be attending the University of Vermont in the fall. He plans to study exercise and movement science at UVM, and envisions going on to graduate school and becoming a physical therapist.
According to Moore, it was Officer John Mott, who is also the resource officer at Spaulding, who sold him on becoming a bee. Moore said so far it’s been fun and interesting to meet new people.
Hunter D’Agostino will be starting his sophomore year this fall at Castleton State College, where he’s studying sociology with a concentration in criminology. D’Agostino wants to get into the law enforcement field and figures that being a Barre bee for a summer will look good on his resume. He said being a bee also gives him some first-hand experience with work in law enforcement.
D’Agostino said being a bee is going well so far, adding “You meet some crazy people here and there.”
Amos Gaylord is the fourth Barre bee this summer. Heading into his senior year at Norwich, Gaylord aims to work in the law enforcement field after graduation, drawn to the profession because of a desire to help people.
Unlike the other bees, Gaylord already has some law enforcement experience. He was an intern with the police department last semester, riding with officers and doing field observations with dispatch. Another facet of his internship involved social service work.
Gaylord said being a bee is a good kickstarter for a law enforcement career.
“Not only do you have an opportunity to help the community, but you get a lot of first-hand knowledge,” he said.
Gaylord added that aside from being an extra set of eyes for police, the bees act as a deterrent for would-be criminals. He said anyone looking to commit a crime may think twice with more personnel connected to law enforcement on the streets.
Even so, he acknowledged, there will be trouble at times. Gaylord said if he or his peers on bicycle see an incident taking place, their first job is to call it in to headquarters so police are aware and can respond. And, Gaylord said, if it appears someone needs to intervene in an event that’s quickly unfolding, police officials have told the bees to use their discretion, keep their distance and work to defuse the situation by talking with the individuals involved.