IU Kokomo launches Bike Patrol program
By Howard Monroe, WISH, News 8, November 5, 2014
Watch the video: http://wishtv.com/2014/11/05/iu-kokomo-to-put-police-on-bikes-to-improve-safety/
KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) — Building trust and making campus a safer place for students. That’s the goal behind a new Bike Patrol program that just launched at IU Kokomo.
Emily West is the school’s first ever bike cop.
“I can see more students and interact with them more than I would just walking around or being in the patrol car,” said West.
West is a senior in the school’s criminal justice program. She graduated from the Police Academy over the summer and is certified with the International Police Mountain Bike Association.
“It’s a different experience coming back to campus as an officer. I have a lot more responsibility. I can do a lot more now that I’m an officer and the interaction with students is a little different,” said West.
Students say having the new police presence makes them feel safer.
“When I have my later classes at night it’s nice to know that they’re always here and always around for us,” said sophomore Carley Williams.
“The bikes make them [the police] much more accessible, much quicker response times,” said sophomore Kenton Schroer.
It’s the accessibility that newly appointed Police Chief Jerry Williams wanted. Many colleges and cities, including Kokomo where he worked for 25 years, have bike cops.
“As the officers are riding the bicycles through the campus they can stop and talk to the students or faculty staff visitors,” said Chief Williams.
Still being a student herself, West says the hardest part of the job is getting her classmates to open up.
“They view me as an authority figure so it’s a little harder to break down those walls to get them to be able to trust me more and communicate easier with me again, but I think the bike program will definitely help that,” said West.
Despite the program being up and running the two bikes they have are on loan from IUPUI. They’re retrofitted for police work and cost about $1,100 each.
Chief Williams says they are currently applying for grants for their own bikes.
As for West, she was just hired full time for the campus police force after she graduates in December.