Police bike-patrol units have been increasingly turning to e-bikes in recent years, since they can cover a lot more ground more quickly than regular bikes.
Having e-bikes allows officers to keep pace with suspects who are on e-bikes, and their manoeuvrability can get bike officers to a call faster than a conventional police vehicle in the event of traffic congestion, said West Shore RCMP Const. Reza Niazi, part of that detachment’s four-member bike unit.
Niazi, who is featured in a about the unit that the detachment released Monday to mark World Bicycle Day, said they’re also an efficient way to check on unhoused people who set up camp in out-of-the-way places.
“They’re a lot more practical, given that we cover such a large area,” he said. “We go all the way from View Royal to Colwood, Langford and Metchosin.”
He said e-bikes are especially useful for monitoring the trail systems in the detachment area, and have played an important role in finding missing people and stolen goods.
The bike unit, created in July 2018, still has standard bikes, but e-bikes get the most use, said Niazi, noting bike officers work full-time in the unit.
He said bike patrols in general help create a positive image for police “just by being active and interacting with the community members.”
Saanich police also have a four-member bike unit, whose members have been increasingly using e-bikes since 2022.
“E-bikes were identified as a way to better engage the public, allow bike patrol officers to cover more distance and more-challenging terrain, and keep them fresher when arriving at incidents,” Saanich police said in a statement, adding the Trek-brand bikes are designed specifically for use by first responders, and cost about $6,500 each.
The department said using e-bikes makes sense, since Saanich is one of the largest municipalities in sa国际传媒 at 103 square kilometres and includes 170 parks. It said e-bikes allow officers to cover up to 50 kilometres a day year-round.
The Saanich department was the first in the capital region to add police lights to its bikes in 2012.
Comox Valley RCMP announced in May that it had acquired e-bikes as part of a pilot program to make bike patrols, which began in 2019, more effective.
“The new e-bikes will offer the ability to accelerate quickly and maintain consistent speeds, empowering officers to respond quicker and more efficiently to emergencies,” said Comox Valley RCMP Const. Monika Terragni.
Victoria police said the department doesn’t currently have a dedicated bike unit in its patrol division, having assigned both bike officers and beat officers to a new General Investigative Services section a few years ago.
But the department does maintain a fleet of four e-bikes, largely for use at special events such as parades and holiday festivities.
The department said it’s looking at ways to be more visible throughout the community, “including increasing foot patrols walking the beat in the downtown core.”
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