Edmonton Police building community ties on two wheels

By Stephanie Dubois, MetroNews Canada, July 23, 2014

Photo:  Stephanie Dubois/MetroOfficers on bikes patrol downtown streets during the K-Days parade held on July 18.

For Edmonton police officers on bicycles, it isn’t about how fast you can respond to calls but how you can stop crime from happening at all.

Beat officers part of the downtown division often take part in group rides and recently, they’ve found that by riding in groups, citizens are more willing to report crimes.

“Basically the bike program is meant for the beats program. Patrol members don’t ride bikes for simple reason that we’re not there to respond to emergency situations. We’re not geared to be there at a moment’s notice,” said Sgt. Tony Parrotta.

Patrolling city streets night and day, but also during special events, like most recently the K-Days parade, officers say it’s important to work with the community.

That also translates into working relationships with different organizations in the downtown core, which has improved substantially over the last few years, says officials.

Christine Oldfield with the Boyle Street Community Services says the presence of officers in the centre has helped build the bridge between police and the centre’s members.

“They have such a great relationship with most of our community members. They come in, shake their hands, call them by their first names. It’s really changed the environment around here,” she said.

The centre isn’t the only group bike officers make a point of stopping at, they also visit a lot of the organizations in the shelter district and other parts of the core, depending on the officer’s beat, said Parrotta.

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