A new twist on an old form of transportation has led to a new initiative within the Gloucester Township Police Department.
This summer, the department is deploying its special law enforcement officers to patrol its parks on bicycles whenever possible. This new initiative has a myriad of advantages, but a big reason for the change is to get the officers to build a stronger relationship with residents.
“It’s the opportunity to get out, meet people and talk to people on a face-to-face basis,” Lt. Mark Benton of the Gloucester Township Police Department said.
The police’s new initiative builds off of its community policing focus that has been a hallmark of the department for about a decade. In 2010, the police department began utilizing its special officers more for community policing and gave them the option of using alternative vehicles, such as a golf cart, to patrol parks. The new bicycle initiative takes things one step further.
“You take away the barriers of a car and let people see them eye-to-eye,” Benton said. “The other thing is the ability to cover so much more ground, so much more area as opposed to walking or driving your car.”
The police department is making the change as it introduces a new tool to make biking more efficient for officers. In March, the police department was recognized for its work within schools at the fourth annual Law Enforcement Against Drugs conference and summit. As part of the recognition, the department received a free GeoOrbital bicycle wheel system. The GeoOrbital wheel takes the place of the front wheel on a normal bike. It is battery powered and enables the rider to travel at speeds of up to 19 miles per hour with a minimal amount of pedaling.
The department began testing the wheel on one of its bikes in the spring and realized there were a number of advantages to using it.
“You can stand up, you can look over the top of a crowd and see what’s going on without pedaling,” Benton said. “If you have an emergency and you have to pedal a mile and a half or two miles, it’s a long way and you’re fatigued, you’re tired and you’re delayed getting there. For officers deployed with the geo wheel, it can go up to 19 miles per hour, so they can get there quickly. It still requires pedaling, it doesn’t go by itself, but it’s a great tool to be able to use.”
The department liked the wheel system so much, it recently purchased a second wheel. The department currently has one GeoOrbital-equipped bicycle for use with its special officers in the parks and another for the department’s patrol units. While the department is just starting to use the GeoOrbital wheel on a regular basis, Benton said the new-looking bike got some members of the community talking during the testing phase.
“A lot of our (special officers) are younger and they’re talking about the bikes,” Benton said. “The bikes are cool. We’ve had a lot of people who are trying to buy these because it looks cool.”
Jacob Hunt is one of the special law enforcement officers who is trained on the new bicycle and patrols the township’s parks. He said being able to bike with some of the kids in town and establish a stronger relationship with them has been a rewarding part of his job.
“It’s pretty enjoyable to see that you probably changed the way they think about police,” Hunt said. “ You start to meet a lot of good people and it’s pretty fun. And you get to bike.”
As part of the new park initiative, Hunt and his fellow special officers are wearing high visibility uniforms so they can be spotted easily. The officers also carry around trading cards as well as information on bicycle safety as well as township events.
