Bicycle Patrol Unit

The Lemoore Police Department's Bike Unit is newly organized and operates on a parttime basis. With the help of Kenneth Brinkman of the Lemoore Bike Shop and a recently acquired State grant, the department purchased two Specialized Police Mountain bikes. The program went into operation on April 4, 1998 during the Krazy Daze Festival. Bike Officers will be assigned special events like National Night Out, the 4th of July Celebration, and Cars in the Park. The goal of the department is to deploy the officers in various neighborhoods on their bikes to increase police visibility. The bicycle team will be particularly effective in the downtown area where there is extensive congestion from vehicle and pedestrian traffic. There are many benefits to police officer's patrolling on bikes:

Officers are out of their cars and much more accessible to the community

• The kids love the bikes and it creates a good relationship between officers and community
• The officers are more approachable, thereby enhancing the implementation of the Community Oriented Policing techniques
• Officers can approach silently and get much closer to the crimes in progress before being seen
• Bike Officers can cover more ground than officers on foot
• Original cost and cost of maintenance are much lower
• High visibility equals crime prevention