Bicycle patrol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bicycle patrol - Essay Example They are – The International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA), and the Law Enforcement Bike Association (LEBA). The IPMBA model is more popular and known (Shah, 2003). According to IPMBA resources, mountain bicycles are used in police departments to control criminal activities. It has become a fashion to prepare a bicycle patrol unit throughout United States of America’s state police departments because of the benefits. Bikes are noiseless, cheap and dependable and are helpful in filling up the gap between automobiles and foot patrol. Communities prefer to talk to a bike patrol officer than to a neighborhood beat officer. It helps policing efforts to solve problems. Bicycle officers can make better use of their senses of eye, ear and smelling in searching criminals. Criminals don’t doubt their presence around even if they are in uniform. Another benefit of mountain bike is its worth in crowded urban areas, where traffic is very slow, and crowd comes in between the motorized way. Bikes can enter into parks, parking lots, institutions, colonies, business centers, tourist complexes and VIP functions. The streets, side-walks, alleys, trails and such areas can be reached via a bike, where motor vehicles cannot enter due to lack of space. They are useful both in urban and remote areas to save people from casualties also (IPMBA resources). It is very important to learn how to handle weapon at the time of patrol cycling. Bike can be used as a protective tool also. The option of ‘use of force’ shows that bike is not just a medium of transport but techniques like riding stairs, cone courses and slow speed skills besides scenario exercises, and suspect encounters add to the already learnt cycling skills. So, passing the training course is very important before practicing police bike patrols (Shah, 2003). Here lies the importance of IPMBA courses like Security Cyclist certification courses. The Complete Guide to Police Cycling of IPMBA covers