City police beef up downtown bike patrols
By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican, June 28, 2013
The city of Santa Fe is increasing its summer police presence around downtown and the Railyard area via bicycle patrols.
Utilizing both unarmed public-safety aides and armed police officers, the effort offers 12-hour-a-day coverage to discourage car burglaries, help protect citizens and tourists, keep an eye on night-time public events, check vendor and artist permits for public performances, and respond more quickly to emergency calls and criminal complaints.
Santa Fe Police Chief Ray Rael said “Operation Plaza Patrol” began Wednesday. “Being we have more of these public events — music on the bandstand and movies in the park — during the summer, we want to make sure we provide additional presence and security,” he said.
Right now, he said, the effort will not require additional funding or overtime charges, though that may change as the program continues.
The plan includes bicycle coverage from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the downtown area ringed by the horseshoe-shaped Paseo de Peralta, according to Officer David Webb. Jr., who is in charge of the bicycle patrol. He said police officers are working in teams and are as fully outfitted as any patrol officer.
Webb said officers on bike patrol are more accessible to pedestrians who want to report concerns or just ask directions and can respond more quickly to reports or problems. Although the department deploys undercover plainclothes officers on bicycles, many suspects don’t recognize uniformed law-enforcement officers on bikes, and that gives them the element of surprise, he said.
In fact, one man stopped Webb and offered him a puff from his joint, not realizing he was dealing with a police officer. The man was arrested. Another man offered Webb a slug of beer from an open container — and he was issued a citation.
And on Friday, upon arriving at a police check-in point near Tomasita’s, Webb and other officers on bikes encountered a man who was passed out and inebriated.
“Nobody expects a police officer to ride a bike around town,” Webb said. “We see a lot more, we can blend in with the general public until we get up close.” He said officers are logging in 10 to 18 miles of day on bikes.
He said officers on bikes often receive complaints about aggressive panhandlers: “We try our best to get them to move on and give them a warning. Typically, we don’t get attitude from them.”
They are also encountering a lot of people drinking alcohol from open containers or engaging in narcotics use, including in and around Cathedral Park, a favorite gathering place for locals, tourists, teens and homeless people
Webb admitted that some outdoor buskers and performance artists do complain about the police keeping tabs on their permits. He said on Friday, officers dealt with at least one busker whose license was out of date and who was asking passers-by for money. “He wasn’t in compliance,” Webb said.
“If the permits are in compliance, we won’t even stop to speak to them — we’ll just take a quick peek at their license, which should be displayed.”