‘Mikes on Bikes’ hit the streets
Lewiston officers Mike Shore and Mike Rigney roll out community policing model with downtown patrols
By TOM HOLM of the Lewiston Tribune, May 13, 2019 Updated May 13, 2019
Lewiston ME - “The Mikes” and their sunny dispositions jell well with their new job duties as biking ambassadors in the sunshine of downtown Lewiston.
Lewiston Police Department officers Mike Rigney and Mike Shore recently began working something like a bicycle beat, stationed downtown with the intent to enact what many police departments espouse as the best way to mitigate crime: community policing. But the two officers are putting the idea to work by rolling tread on pavement in the downtown, Levee Bypass and North Lewiston areas.
The two veteran officers, with roughly three decades of service between them, are able to devote their time to the downtown core of Lewiston thanks to a U.S. Department of Justice COPS grant that was awarded to the department two years ago. The positions weren’t rolled out until this spring, Rigney said, as staffing, and a change in leadership required some rearranging at the department.
The two officers dressed in comfortable “soft uniforms,” are still equipped with the body cams and service weapons common to any officer. The affable officers and approachable outfits make for more and easier community engagement. The Mikes spend their day biking from place to place, chatting with business owners and pedestrians or counseling the homeless on resources in the area.
The program started with fortuitous timing since the ROC Rescue Mission for the homeless is shutting down at the end of the month, and many of the people served may filter into downtown. Shore said he doesn’t see his job as targeting homeless people or seeking out infractions, citations or arrests. He wants to build relationships and find employment opportunities or other resources to hopefully help people get off the street.
“We’re not gonna beat these problems with arrests,” Shore said.
Rigney agreed and said his interactions with downtown business owners have shown a willingness to address homelessness and downtown cleanup with empathy.
“Lewiston really is a caring community,” he said. “We’ve been seeing it right from the get-go.”
The grant affords for two full-time officers for four years. The “Mikes on Bikes,” as some on social media have affectionately dubbed the two, will be out year-round, though maybe not in shorts and on bikes during the winter.
Community policing has been shown to have a small impact on reducing violent crime and a limited effect on reducing the fear of crime, according to a 2014 study by George Mason University. The policy does result in more citizen satisfaction and improves the perception people have of police. A 2017 Walden University study similarly found slight reductions in overall violent crimes as a result of community policing, but the study also calls for more data to determine any causality as a result of community policing.
Community members’ view of law enforcement, however, is improved, especially when an officer can easily be approached with a question on a street corner. Shore said he’s noticed a difference in just the few weeks since he’s been on a bike instead of in a patrol car.
“When you slow down and walk or bike, you see so much more,” he said. “You notice more things you can step in and assist with. … Our approach is really just care.”
Holm may be contacted at (208) 848-2275 or tholm@lmtribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomHolm4.