Milton officers train hard for bicycle patrols
By DEREK SHUCK, The Milton Edgewood Signal, Thursday, 1 October 2015
Photo: The city of Milton hosted officers from all over the state to participate in a unique Mountain Bike course. Photo courtesy of The City of Milton / The Milton Edgewood Signal.
The city of Milton is too pretty an area to just be enjoyed from inside a car; it should be experienced and felt through other modes of transportation like a bicycle, and Milton Police Chief Tony Hernandez and his team are the ones setting the example.
On Sept. 18, the department led the charge with a four-day, 32-hour International Police Mountain Bike Course. Officers from Milton, Gig Harbor, Yakima, Mercer Island and King County Office of the Sheriff, Pierce County Office of the Sheriff, and Pierce County Security were in attendance.
All of the agencies have one thing in common: the institution of bicycle patrols for officers in their city. These types of patrols involve several different types of advantages, including more approachable officers. Since they are no longer boxed in to quick moving cars, talking to them is much easier in open spaces.
“Biking is a very good thing from a space point of view. Police are supposed to be seen, to interact with the public,” Hernandez said.
The course was a grueling effort for everyone involved. Daily uphill rides were utilized to help officers become more skilled with their bike. The idea behind the course is to make officers both more effective and approachable on their bikes, and to serve as examples for young children who see the officers ride while following all safety laws.
“It allows officers to be a role model for children that might be biking out in the community,” Hernandez said. “Obeying laws is a very effective tool to engage the public.”
Other advantages include stealth and tangible results. The ability to be extremely mobile while being able to gain speed allows an edge in apprehensions and quick response times.
Milton’s bike routes are just a piece of Hernandez’ community policing plan he has been implementing since he took over as chief a year ago. The method focuses on building ties and working closely with members of the community. Currently, Milton bike officers patrol the Hylebos Trail and other places a patrol car can’t get into. As more money is raised for more equipment, more bikes will be put out on patrol.
“I think what has happened in the past is that law enforcement loses sight of the fact that they are an extension of the people. What I mean by that is that (officers) are normal citizens who have been given full time authority to enforce the morals and values of the communities that we live in, or that we have been hired to protect. We have to make sure that we are representing the community we are tasked to protect,” Hernandez said in an earlier interview. “So how do you do that? You don’t know how to do that unless you are getting out and having those conversations with your community. For you to do your job effectively, you have to have the trust of the public, the confidence of the public. And you can’t represent the public if you don’t have that level of transparency and interaction with the public.”
Hernandez and his team hope the new bike patrols will do just that.
“Out into the public, you get to have that intimate interaction. It’s difficult to have that same level of interaction in a car. If an officer is on a bike, everyone is a social contact. We want everyone to have a perception that police are more than open to a different avenue to be able to engage the citizenry of Milton.”