Chief wants police in cruiser, not on bike

[Tk]

>has to carry an additional 20-30 lbs of equipment, wear
>a very hot
ballistic vest, PLUS wrestle with drunks and
> knotheads on a semi-regular basis. Still sound appealing?
> <g> Regards, Bob Hunt

wait is this patrol, or my honeymoon night?

 

[Matt O'Toole]

Hunrobe wrote:

>> "Matt O'Toole" [email protected]
>
> wrote:
>
>> I'd be pretty bummed if I was a bike cop, and forced to
>> give it up for car duty.
>
> ---snip---
>
> Maybe, maybe not. Bike patrol *sounds* great- "Hey, they
> are PAYING me to ride!" but the riding part is just a
> very small part of the job. CPD uses bike patrols in the
> Loop area. There's been widespread agreement in this NG
> in the past that bike messenger jobs in central business
> districts are tough jobs. Imagine a bike messenger that
> has to carry an additional 20-30 lbs of equipment, wear
> a very hot ballistic vest, PLUS wrestle with drunks and
> knotheads on a semi-regular basis. Still sound
> appealing? <g>

Well, at least you get to ride off the stress of each
"encounter." Also, one would hope cops make better dough
than bike messengers.

As far as the physical aspect goes, many jobs require just
as much energy output, but in a much more grueling, body-
breaking way.

BTW, among the mountain bikers I used to ride with, the
second biggest career group were police/fire/rescue folks
(the first being engineering and science nerds). Nothing
beats cycling for the combination of exercise and stress
relief, as well as recreation.

Matt O.

 

[Grl]

If you mean a bike cop is more likely to be in good shape,
maybe so. On the other hand, nothing beats the sound of a
screaming siren to make a bad guy want to run away and leave
you the hell alone. The sound of a bike cop approaching is
not nearly as effective.

--

- GRL

"It's good to want things."

Steve Barr (philosopher, poet,
humorist, chemist, Visual Basic
programmer) "Pete" <[email protected]>
wrote in message news:nvrzc.32067$ih7-
[email protected]...
>
> "GRL" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hmmm. If I had put a call in for help and the nearest
> > cop was a mile
away
> > I'd want him in a squad car and not on a bike, too. I
> > think anyone
would.
>
> True, but I'd also want an officer who can silently
> sneak up on a
situation,
> pursue the suspect down an alleyway and through the park,
> and outrun him while toting 25 lbs of gear.
>
> Bike mounted cops are also more personable. More
> neighborhood friendly. In
a
> car, they're more isolated from the environment and the
> citizens.
>
> Some situations cars are better, some bikes are better.
> Sometimes horses
are
> better.
>
> Pete

 

[Fritz M]

"Pete" <[email protected]> wrote:

> 4 whole minutes? What do you suggest? Stationing a cop in
> everyone's front yard?

I think you missed my point. I was responding to the poster
who preferred a cop in a car to one on bike because he would
be able to respond faster, presumably to deter a crime in
progress. 4 minutes is amazingly fast, but it's still not
fast enough because the deed has been done and the perps are
long gone. Hence, response time isn't really a factor in
crime deterrance.

RFM

 

[Pete]

"Fritz M" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Pete" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > 4 whole minutes? What do you suggest? Stationing a cop
> > in everyone's
front
> > yard?
>
> I think you missed my point.

I guess I did.

Pete

 

[Loki]

"James S. Prine" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >More observant ones are. So...do you need your cops to be
> >faster or more aware or what? There ain't no one single
> >cure for ever't'ang.
>
> So true. For instance, a Bike Officer can get to a scene
> and take
appropriate
> action very swiftly, but if that action involves a
> physical arrest, the
Bike
> unit still has to wait for a motor transport vehicle to
> take the prisoner
to
> Central Lockup. That can be a lengthy wait sometimes....

I guess getting the prisoner to lock up on a tandem is out
of the question....

How about a specially built trailer?



--
'All glitters is go-o-o-old Only shooting stars break the
mo-o-o-old.'
- smashm-
outh

 

[Austinmn]

Hunrobe wrote:
> >Matt O'Toole wrote:
>

<snip>

> >I wonder what it costs to maintain horses these days --
> >probably more
than
> >cars.
>
> You may be right. The initial purchase is much lower but
> the maintenance
adds
> significantly I'm sure.

My father used to say "The reason the tractor replaced the
horse is that you don't have to feed a tractor once it's
turned off."

In a typical mid-sized city, many patrol cars are running
almost continuously.

Austin

 

[Erik Freitag]

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:52:28 +0000, loki wrote:

> I guess getting the prisoner to lock up on a tandem is
> out of the question....

Yeah, I've heard that suspects make the worst stokers. They
unclip at every stop sign and won't go into the drops, even
on a downhill.

Maybe you could cut a deal - "I'll only file the burglary,
not the arson if I don't have to pull you up that hill".

 

[Kyler Laird]

"GRL" <[email protected]> writes:

>Hmmm. If I had put a call in for help and the nearest cop
>was a mile away I'd want him in a squad car and not on a
>bike, too. I think anyone would.

I'd be more interested in getting someone effective on
scene quickly.

Purdue and West Lafayette have had bike patrols for awhile
and Lafayette just started their program. An article I
recently skimmed mentioned that the bikes are receiving
notice for arriving on scene before the cruisers. I would
expect that to be much more pronounced in an area with
higher traffic density.

'course the right bike can make a big difference too.
http://electricrider.com/wavecrest/tfm750.htm

--kyler