Rear rack works great, rain or shine

by Cpl. Chuck Niess
Joplin Police Department (MO)
Industry Relations Committee

I joined the Joplin Police Department bicycle unit in September of 1997. At that time, the unit's bikes were grant bicycles from the Missouri Department of Public Safety. The trunk bags were the ones that came with the bikes. The bags, though roomy, lacked form. Soon the zippers ceased to function. The next two bikes, also acquired from the DPS, were equipped with a different brand of trunk bag. Those bags had form, but not as much room. They worked for a couple of years, but the zippers failed, and they suffered the effects of the sun, fading to a dirty gray color.

When the department began purchasing bikes to replace the grant bicycles, I was free to do some research and find the perfect rear trunk bag, both for my purposes and those of our bike unit.

I first gave some consideration to panniers, which I quickly decided against (with vigorous input from my officers), as no one wanted to carry any more equipment than necessary. After poring over various catalogs and studying the features of various brands, I decided on the Jandd Rac Pac II. The first two that we purchased have been in service for two years now and we are still very happy with them. We are so happy with them, in fact, that I that I have recently purchased two more.

The Jandd Rac Pac II has 951 cubic inches of space that can be expanded to 1324 cubic inches. It weighs 26.5 ounces. It has three external pockets: one on each side and one on top. Jandd claims that the top one is for a ticket book, but our citation books are too large. Instead, I utilize it for badge stickers and other items that I hand out to the kids in the summer.

The bag is available in basic black, and has "Police" on the side (other titles are available.) A bright yellow rain cover is available to protect the contents of the bag from the elements. I rarely ride in the rain, but at times I have been forced to, so I can attest that the rain cover does achieve its purpose. Reflective Scotchlite strips across the back provide added safety when riding at night.

If you are in the market for new rear trunks, give serious consideration to the Jandd Rac Pac II. It has done the job for us!

Chuck can be reached at CNiess@joplinmo.org.