PENNSYLVANIA Farrell police plan bike patrols

Bicycles make officers more accessible and personable, the chief said.
FARRELL, Pa. -- City residents could soon see police officers patrolling their neighborhoods on bicycles rather than in cars.
Police Chief Riley Smoot said the Southwest Mercer County Regional Police Department has applied for a $6,500 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to buy two police bicycles and provide equipment and training for four officers.
The Farrell/Sharon Weed & amp; Seed program is assisting in the application, Smoot said.
Putting patrolmen on bicycles is something the department has been talking about for years, the chief said, noting that it offers better opportunities for community policing by making officers more accessible to the public, especially children.
Other advantages
Bicycles can also get into places that cruisers can't go and enable a police officer to approach suspected illegal activity silently and undetected, Smoot said.
The bicycle patrols would also be handy at the annual community homecoming, parades and other events that draw crowds, he said.
The initial focus of the patrols will be in the Weed & amp; Seed target area bounded roughly by Broadway Avenue on the west, Indiana Avenue on the east, the Sharon border on the north and the Wheatland border on the south.
However, because Southwest Regional also serves Wheatland, part of that municipality will be included in the patrols as well, Smoot said.
The targeted area is on a fairly steep hill that drops from Indiana to Broadway, but Smoot said the bicycles have gearing that will enable officers to climb the hill easily.
Some police bicycles have small electric motors on them to assist in climbing hills, but Southwest's won't, he said, noting that would have raised the cost about $800 per bike.
Smoot said he would like to see other local departments start bicycle patrols that could eventually lead to a coordinated bicycle unit in the Shenango Valley.