ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
BICYCLE PATROLS have become popular in recent years with departments nationwide as a form of community-oriented policing.
As Tour DuPont cyclists pedal out of the Salem Civic Center parking lot Monday morning for Stage 6 of the race, two Salem police officers will jump on bikes for their own tour de patrol.
The department has talked about starting a bike patrol for nearly a year. And with all the hype over cycling from the nation's premiere bicycle race, Monday seemed like an ideal time to start the bike patrol.
Officers Blake Critz and Chris Blomberg will strap on their blue cycling helmets with reflective "police" decals so they can be easily identified. And they will mount their new Raleigh 21-speed mountain bikes - complete with a flashing blue light just under the handle bars.
Bicycle patrols have become popular in recent years among police departments nationwide. It's a form of community-oriented policing, said Salem Police Chief James Bryant.
"We want to get these guys closer to the community," Bryant said.
Roanoke's police department started a bicycle patrol more than two years ago as a part of its Community Oriented Policing Effort.
Critz suggested the concept last June to Salem's police leaders.
"That wasn't the right time for it. Nor did we have the resources," Bryant said.
And the department wanted to research the idea first.
Critz and Blomberg called other police departments that have bicycle patrols - asking what mistakes they may have made and what not to do.
The officers even got down to the details of which uniforms are best to make sure they can be identified by residents as police.
"This is going to be new, so we really want to identify ourselves as police officers," Critz said.
Critz spent a week training at Roanoke's police academy - learning how to ride in some tricky places such as on steps and over curbs.
And he had to learn how to approach people while on a bike.
Blomberg is expected to go through the training this summer at the Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy in Salem.
The two-officer patrol will be assigned to special events, such as the Salem Fair or Olde Salem Days, where large crowds make access difficult for patrol cars.
Because the fair and other events are staffed with officers on foot, the bikes will only improve response time, officers say.
"A bike can go between cars and everything else," Deputy Chief Jeff Dudley said.
The officers will still have to work their regular patrol shifts. But they may have other assignments on the bikes from time to time, Bryant said.
"There will be times we may call someone in to check parking on Main Street," he said. "If we think they are needed, we're going to put them out there."
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. Salem police officers Blake Critzby CNB(left) and Chris Blomberg show the bicycles they will be riding on
patrol starting the day the Tour DuPont rolls through town.