While it's too early to determine how effective it's been in curbing criminal activity, Jefferson City Police Department officials say having officers riding bicycles around town has made a difference in relations with residents.
"It's not the first time we've done this," JCPD Capt. Eric Wilde said. "You have to have the right officers who are interested in taking on this project."
Bike patrols were first discussed in public meetings this past spring. After several violent crimes occurred in Jefferson City late last year, community members called for more to be done to address criminal activity.
At the time, JCPD was looking to identify 10 officers to go through bike training. They ended up with six.
"We employed a selection process, purchased the necessary equipment and sent two officers to a training school," JCPD Chief Roger Schroeder said. "They came back and trained the other officers, and we've employed them in selective enforcement duties."
One of the two training officers was John Lehman, who has been with JCPD for five years.
"I was sitting in an office here at the department and was reading a magazine which had an article about bike patrols, and I talked with my sergeant (Andrew Lenart) about how we used to have a bike patrol here," Lehman said. "The sergeant said he would support the effort if we wanted to get it started. So myself and officer Collier Nichols went to basic training."
JCPD last had a bike patrol in 2005. Schroeder said there was no particular reason it had ended other than "it just evolved away."
The bicycle officers began patrols in August and have been patrolling as time and staffing allows, Wilde said.
"They have been all over the city," Wilde said. "The officers keep the bikes in their patrol vehicles, and instead of walking in an area, they'll ride. They prefer doing that because it allows them to cover a bigger area."
The bike officers do all the same activities as a regular patrol officer but on a much more micro-level in an effort to cultivate face-to-face relationships with the community, Wilde said.
"We want them riding in smaller areas of condensed population areas such as apartment complexes and neighborhoods as opposed to covering an entire police zone," he said.
"There are times we work downtown during big events, and they give us golf carts. But the bikes are easier to get around when you have those big crowds," officer Jake Schnakenberg said.
The bike officers can write tickets or make arrests anytime they detect a violation of city ordinance or state law, but Wilde said the primary emphasis of the bike patrol team is relationship-building, presence patrols and crime prevention.
"They stay on the bikes depending on what our call load is that day and staffing levels," Wilde said. "Bike patrol duties are in addition to their regularly assigned patrol duties, so if things get busy, they have to handle the standard calls for police service as they come in. We have also offered the bike patrol team members overtime if they want to come in on their days off to do the bike patrol while others are covering the standard calls for service."
Even in the winter, if the temperatures allow, the officers plan to patrol on their bikes, Wilde said.
"We are urging them to ride as much as possible," he said. "It's a good proactive tool. We've made more face-to-face contact with residents by having these officers out there. It's easier to interact on a bike than from a patrol car."
Wilde hopes to see more personal interaction with members of the community and relationship building.
"I also hope that those individuals that are committing crimes in our community feel the need to look over their shoulder a little more, not knowing when a police officer on a bicycle may come riding up quietly while those crimes are being committed," Wilde said.
"The bikes are great conversation starters, from kids to adults, and definitely practical when deployed in the right situation," Lehman said. "It's community policing. The more police you see a lot of times can deter crime, especially violent crime."