Bike Patrol Is Vital to Federal Police Forces

By ADMIN 0 Comments

by Ryan Dobbs, PCI#1320, U.S. Government Printing Office (DC) Police

When you read my information underneath the title, you might have asked yourself, “What is the U.S. Government Printing Office Police?” Yeah, we get that a lot. My department, also known as GPO Police, is one of roughly 40 federal police departments in the Washington, D.C., area alone. Just like state and local police departments, many federal police departments such as the GPO Police utilize police cyclists as an integral part of their patrol functions.

You have probably heard of U.S. Park Police and U.S. Capitol Police, which are two of the larger federal police departments. But have you heard of Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police, U.S. Mint Police, Amtrak Police, or Defense Intelligence Agency Police? These are just a few examples of the many federal departments in the Washington, D.C. area. Federal police forces have unique missions, each playing an important role in homeland security. For example, U.S. Capitol Police protects the Capitol Complex. U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division protects the White House. U.S. Park Police protects federal owned parklands, monuments, and memorials. FBI Police protects the FBI Headquarters and Washington Field Office. All four of these agencies have utilized bicycle patrol units. GPO produces official information of the U.S. government, to include passports for the Department of State. So you can see why GPO has a federal police force patrolling the streets around the GPO buildings and grounds.

IPMBA has been crucial to GPO Police’s continuing bike patrol efforts. When we developed our bike patrol program, GPO Police partnered with U.S. Capitol Police. At first, U.S. Capitol Police allowed our officers to attend their bike patrol training program. However, when U.S. Capitol Police informed us that their training was put on hold, GPO was at a loss. We needed to get more officers on bikes. That’s when I took it upon myself to become IPMBA-certified and later Instructor-certified so we would be able to have our own in-house training courses. Since 2013, GPO has tripled the amount of police cyclists in the department. Now our manpower is capable of having a bike officer patrolling 24/7.

Bike patrol has been the ultimate response unit for the department. When it comes to rush hour traffic, one of our bike patrol units can easily respond to an incident more quickly than a vehicle patrol unit. We constantly have traffic backups due to congestion on North Capitol Street and construction at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave and H Street. Even the new Wal-Mart at 77 H Street NW has clogged up vehicular and pedestrian traffic in our jurisdiction.

While this has somewhat affected our vehicle units, our bike patrol units haven’t noticed a difference. We easily maneuver around pedestrians and traffic all the time, thanks to the techniques learned in IPMBA training. When it comes to foot pursuits, no one outruns a bike. I can relate numerous success stories, such as one in which two suspects robbed a lady outside of Union Station, only to be caught by a GPO bike patrol officer three blocks down the road.

Employee and public relations have never been better, thanks to our bike patrol unit. Agency employees frequently pay compliments to our bike patrol units.

Recently, GPO held its annual Fitness Day at the Gonzaga High School track. During this event, employees participate in various physical activities such as a one mile walk, one mile run, two mile relay, Yoga, Zumba and more. The goal is promote physical fitness and health education amongst the employees. GPO Police utilized bike patrol units to provide security at the event and as a way of showing the police force’s dedication to physical fitness. Employees loved this, and many came up to us, asking questions and sharing bike riding stories. Public Printer DaVita Vance-Cooks, the presidential appointed leader of GPO, often speaks highly of the bike patrol unit.

Bike patrol has helped with improving relations between law enforcement agencies, something that can be an issue due to the number of police departments within the area. In my IPMBA Instructor Course, which was held in Washington, D.C., we had members from federal, state, and local departments. I developed a working relationship with several police cyclists within D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, which is the lead police department in D.C. I also became friends with fellow federal police officers within the U.S. Park Police. I even met a Pennsylvania State Trooper and a George Washington University Police Officer; both are police cyclists. These relationships have facilitated mutual aid, information sharing, training opportunities, equipment swapping, and more.

As you have read, bike patrol has become essential to my department’s ability to provide law enforcement duties. This is just one of many success stories of federal police departments utilizing bike patrol. And thanks to this success, the heart of our homeland is more protected than ever.

Ryan Dobbs is a Sergeant with the U.S. Government Printing Office Police (GPO), Washington D.C. He joined the GPO Police’s Bike Patrol Unit in 2010 and successfully completed the FLETC/USCP Basic Mountain Bike Course. He became certified as an IPMBA Police Cyclist in 2011. He is currently an IPMBA Instructor and the leader of GPO’s Bike Patrol Unit.

IPMBA News