Community policing by bicycle

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By: John Thain, KTVA, July 15, 2020

Watch the video: https://www.ktva.com/story/42374745/community-policing-by-bicycle

Photo by Bev Wernli via Flickr

Anchorage AK -- In the midst of a continuing conversation about community policing, APD officers Matt Jensen and Rich Sargent steer their bicycles toward a woman and young girl fishing on the shore of Cheney Lake. The officers strike up a conversation about the park, give the girl an APD badge sticker and wave goodbye as they pedal on down the dirt trail.

Anchorage’s School Resource Officers, or SROs, are no strangers to this type of work. The officers spend the school year interacting daily with kids. In addition to the security they provide, officers Jensen and Sargent both say they want students to be comfortable talking with police and have positive experiences with them.

When the school year ends, biking season begins and SROs head out into the community, reaching deeper into neighborhoods and parks than squad cars can.

APD Sergeant Rayne Reynolds says the SRO unit has 15 positions and nearly all of them will patrol on bikes through the summer. They ride in pairs, spreading out over Anchorage’s trail system from Eagle River to as far South as McHugh Creek or even Girdwood.

A typical 10-hour shift for an APD officer on a bicycle could bring anything from a wildlife encounter to a medical emergency. But what happens in between calls is where being on two wheels has its biggest advantage.

“They are going to be able to observe more things, see more things, stop and talk. There is not that barrier of a vehicle, or a window, or a car door," Reynolds said.

Community interactions come naturally on a bike. It's easier to stop and chat or even just smile and wave. Those simple interactions have real value in how the community views their police force.

"The purpose of the bike is really community policing," Reynolds said. "Having those officers get out there and interact with the community."

Reynolds says the SROs will be back in the schools with the students this fall.