Moscow Cops to Get on Their Bikes
13:22 June 18, 2013 Ivan Petrov, RBC daily
The Moscow Police Department has not been left out from the City Council’s initiative to "bicyclise" the capital this summer. A bike-mounted police unit started operating in the south west of the city in early June. So far, officers in full gear only patrol the Bitsa Park, although more parks and other areas closed to cars are to follow suit shortly.
Velobike, a joint bicycle-sharing project of the Mayor’s Office and Bank of Moscow, started in Moscow on 1 June, with bicycle rental racks appearing throughout the city. Just two weeks into the project, however, eight bikes have been stolen and around 20 vandalised, and users have complained about the complicated payment process (a credit card must be first registered at a special website). At the same time, RBC daily has learned that the Moscow police support the authorities’ plans to "bicyclize" the city.
"Bike-mounted officers are highly mobile, and response time is reduced substantially," said Dmitry Lazorenko, chief of a precinct serving the Bitsa Forest Park. “Potential offenders will think twice before committing a crime. Park visitors will certainly feel safer. Not to mention the officers, who will now be in good physical condition all the time.”
Bicycle-mounted police are outfitted just like regular cops. They always carry a GI gun, a torch, a radio and handcuffs.
By the way, serial killer Alexander Pichushkin, who murdered 48 people in the Bitsa Forest Park (he was sentenced to life in prison in 2007), for years took advantage of the fact that police only patrolled the vast park area on foot.
The Internal Affairs Division for Moscow’s South-West Administrative District has only eight bikes so far.
"Other beat policemen are expected to receive two-wheeled transportation soon," said district spokesperson Yulia Anosova. "They will patrol other parks, public gardens and yards where cars are prohibited."
According to Anosova, Moscow’s south west will not be the only area patrolled by bike-mounted police. "We are talking about the whole of Moscow; the city’s police department has already discussed this idea," she said.
"While our officers patrol on motorcycles in Tsaritsyno, it’s more convenient for them to operate on bicycles at the Bitsa Forest Park", the Moscow Police Department’s press service said.