Delta police’s bike unit makes immediate impact
By Ian Jacques / Delta Optimist, June 27, 2018
Delta police bike unit officers are shown in front of the Tsawwassen First Nation offices. Photograph By DELTA POLICE
Delta BC -- A new bike unit has already paid dividends for the Delta police.
The first day the bike unit was in operation, officers arrested a suspected shoplifter at Tsawwassen Mills.
“We stopped her just a she was going to her car,” said Const. Jeff Miller. “She told me, ‘I was going to run, but then I looked at you and thought, forget it.’”
Started in mid-June, the bike unit is an addition to the department’s Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) Services Team. TFN lands are flat, with a number of trails, and readily lend themselves to policing on bike.
“It just makes us that much more accessible,” said Sgt. Roy Garnham, who heads up the unit. “Rather than being in cars, behind windows, we’re finding already that people are stopping us more, waving at us, just wanting to have a quick chat.”
He points out the bikes are convenient, saying he can get from the TFN administrative offices to the mall in three minutes - sometimes faster than what he might be able to do in the car, dependent on traffic.
Both officers took a one-week course that teaches police officers bike-specific tactics as well as training on how to do power slides, travel safely down stairs and more.
They wear their regular duty belts, as well as a police uniform modified for use on bikes, consisting of shorts and short-sleeved shirt, and, of course, a helmet. The bikes are specially designed for law enforcement use, with heavy-duty 29-inch tires.
“They’re not exactly light weight,” Garnham said wryly.
DPD has had a bike unit in the past, but it’s been about 15 years since it was active. Garnham thinks the unit is the perfect fit for the Tsawwassen First Nation.
“It just makes so much sense here, and the public response so far has been outstanding,” he said.