Kanagawa police unveils bicycle unit
Jiji Press, 1:36 am, March 04, 2015
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN (Jiji Press) — The Kanagawa prefectural police unveiled Monday new bicycle and running units that will operate alongside runners in the Yokohama Marathon 2015 on March 15 to guard the city’s first large-scale marathon.
It is the first police bicycle unit in Japan, according to the police. At a time of heightened concern over terrorism, the police unit has been set up to protect the 25,000 runners, as well as the many spectators.
The bicycle unit comprises four mountain bikes and five officers.
Three officers will ride the full length of the marathon.
The bikes will allow the officers to stay alert and enable them to quickly respond in case of an emergency, a police official said.
“I’ll do my best from the standpoint of the runners,” said a policeman picked as a member of the bicycle unit.