Oakland should invest in bicycles for police
By Chip Johnson. San Francisco Chronicle, May 7, 2015
A protester rides by police during a May Day protest in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, May 1, 2015. Photo: Tim Hussin, Special To The Chronicle
While residents prepare to celebrate the Bay Area’s annual Bike to Work Day next week, the Oakland Police Department is shifting gears as well in a bid to strengthen its bike patrol to operate in areas where motor vehicles can’t.
Last week, more than a dozen officers took part in the department’s semiannual bike training program, where they get an opportunity to hone pursuit skills and practice riding with full equipment belts on their hips — which isn’t as easy as it may appear, said Sgt. Bryan Hubbard, the department’s training officer.
When you consider the kinds of challenges facing Oakland police officers regularly, from street robberies to monitoring protest-vandals to simply providing a greater police presence on the streets of the city, beefing up bike patrols can be a cost-effective way of meeting those goals.
Bikes may not be the most effective tools to suppress crime, Hubbard said, but they remove barriers and promote personal contact — and goodwill — with citizens who gather together in crowded areas. They’re regularly used on weekends around Lake Merritt, he added.
Increasing the number of bicycle-riding police officers makes a lot of sense in Oakland for a number of reasons.
The year-round temperate weather accommodates bike patrols, and in a city where the number of bike commuters, including Hubbard, is about 10,000 riders daily, it fits community needs.
As a practical matter, the cost of maintaining a fleet of bicycles doesn’t amount to a hill of beans compared with the millions of dollars spent in maintaining and upgrading the city’s fleet of police cars, or paying for the gasoline it costs to power them.
Ideally, Hubbard would like every sworn officer in the Police Department to be trained and ready to use a bike whenever the situation requires it.
And last week, during a May Day protest that devolved into violence at nightfall, Oakland police could have used a few more officers assigned to bike patrols to monitor the crowd. It might not have prevented all of the destruction of vehicles and businesses on Oakland’s Broadway Auto Row, but a greater police presence sooner might have caused some vandals to hesitate, and it could have given riot-gear officers more time to catch up to them.
In Seattle, police officers ride bikes in full gear and have the training and skills to use their bikes the same way Oakland police officers use fiberglass shields to protect themselves and establish a temporary skirmish line.
In Oakland, where protest-vandals have been quick to hurl rocks, bottles and debris, officer safety remains a priority.
“We’re not there yet,” Hubbard said.
Oakland city officials have run hot and cold in their support for bike patrols, and they have never approved a permanent funding stream for the program. But it should be a no-brainer for city leaders, particularly due to the lower maintenance costs.
In a city where residents have clamored for community policing, it makes even more sense.
“It’s great for community policing, and there is a chance to use them for demos (demonstrations) as well,” said Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent.
“I still like to get out and ride when I can,” Whent said. “Neighborhood people want to come out and talk, and they have no idea I’m the chief. You can’t have that kind of interaction riding around in a car.”
Whent said he plans to establish a permanent foot/bike patrol unit for downtown Oakland with a portion of the funding available in Measure Z, a public safety bond measure passed by voters in November.
When you consider all of the money wasted on politically driven ideas versus an annual funding stream of around $10,000 for annual bike replacement, training and repair costs, the real question is why this program wasn’t funded years ago.
Chip Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His columns run Tuesday and Friday. E-mail chjohnson@sfchronicle.com.