IPMBA News

Police bike patrols should be routine in the warm-weather months

THE DAILY LOCAL NEWS, POSTED: 04/15/14, 7:58 AM EDT 

Crime usually doesn’t care about the weather — although the bad guys don’t generally get out when there’s a foot of snow on the ground. It’s more or less understood that when the nice weather rolls out again so will an increase in crime.

In the City of Coatesville, the police decided to make their presence known late last week as the warmer weather paid all of us a visit.

The police department placed several additional officers on the street to conduct the “first of many” bicycle patrols that resulted in several arrests.

According to the Coatesville Police Department, three officers took part in the supplemental patrol Thursday evening. Police said the patrol intends to improve the department’s relationship with the community while also cracking down on quality-of-life issues in the city. Thursday’s patrol netted five arrests, according to police.

According to Daily Local News reporter Michael Price, the city used to have a full-time bicycle patrol. But Detective Sgt. Brandon Harris said manpower and funding shortages have limited the department’s ability to conduct the patrols in recent years.

“We do it whenever we have the chance to do it, whenever we have the manpower,” Harris said, noting that Thursday’s patrol was funded by the Chester County Municipal Drug Task Force.

Harris said the department wanted to conduct the patrol on one of the first warm nights of the year so the officers could interact with members of the community.
Harris said the bike patrols are more of “a community policing detail,” but added that the Coatesville police are more focused on quality-of-life issues.

“We picked the first warm night because we knew a lot of people would be outside. It’s a lot harder when you’re in a car to stop to talk to everyone outside.”
Police said Thursday’s patrol was a success, resulting in five arrests on drug offenses and outstanding warrants.

Harris said the police department hopes to conduct more of the bicycle patrols, but that will depend on the department’s manpower levels and the ability to pay the overtime for additional officers.

“We plan on doing it a lot more, depending on manpower and funding,” Harris said.

We applaud the Coatesville police for this effort. It’s tough — no, impossible — to keep an eye on all of the bad guys out there. There are just not enough police to watch everyone. But getting out and making your presence known is a good idea that should continue. Whether the money comes from the local government, county or state, these bike patrols need to be standard operating procedure for Coatesville — especially during the warm-weather months.

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