Every day, hundreds of Edmonton police officers hit the streets to patrol the city; some by vehicle and others on foot. Then there’s the group of men and women who strap on their helmets and hit the road by bike.
The two-wheeled unit has become a big part of the Edmonton Police Service, with officers able to explore areas they wouldn’t otherwise be able to in a patrol car. So what does a typical day look like for those who patrol the city by bike?
“I could spend two or three hours on the bike on a good day,” Sgt. David Jones with downtown division said, “anywhere you can imagine a bike going is where we can get, which is a lot further than with our patrol cars.”
“It allows us to get more quickly into parkades or back alleys and the urban type of policing that we have right in the downtown core especially.”
Watch below: Time-lapse GoPro video shows Edmonton police bike patrol officers riding from EPS headquarters to the river valley, including a quick ride down Grierson Hill
The EPS downtown division is the smallest division in the city. It is in charge of patrolling some of the most heavily-populated areas of the city, including the river valley. And during the summer, it can get busy down there.
“We have lots of trails that we try to get down to to show a presence and hopefully do something to increase safety,” Jones said.
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There are about 80 officers trained to be on the bike in the downtown division and about 10 to 20 members in the other EPS divisions. Officers go through a four-day intensive training course before they’re given their wheels.
“It entails slow-speed drills, balance drills, looking at some of the obstacles that we can encounter both in an urban and in a river valley setting – stairs and that type of thing – and also different officer safety and arrest techniques that we would use the bike as just another tool,” Jones explained.
Watch below: Sgt. David Jones and Const. Scott Neilson with the EPS talk about their work as bicycle patrol members
While it’s an important part of keeping the city safe, officers also say it’s extremely rewarding to be able to immerse themselves in the communities they ride through.
“I see it as a perk of the job to get to exercise while working as an added benefit,” said Const. Scott Neilson, who hadn’t ridden a bike for 15 years before taking on this role two years ago. “Then of course you have the interaction you get to have with the public instead of just driving by.”
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“The interaction that you get with people is far superior to being in a patrol car. You can stop and talk to people without worrying about nine cars piling up behind you,” Jones added. “You can, even in passing, smile and wave and exchange some pleasantries and I think that goes a long way to – rather than enforcing the laws in a community – really become part of the fabric of the community.”
Watch below: Time-lapse video of Edmonton police bike patrol members riding around the river valley
The EPS has patrolled the city by bicycle since the force formed in 1892.
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