Lets get our Police on Segways and Bicycles

[BridgeTroll]

It is happening worldwide...  This would be very feasible for our most dense areas... Downtown, 5 Points, Riverside, San Marco etc...

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/04/to_catch_a_thief_slowly?page=full

[wsansewjs]

No offense to our fellow rescue workers, but there are quite few police officers who are so FAT that they can't run to catch up the bad guys. Getting them on bicycles and less Segways would be highly ideal keep them in shape. In addition to that, it would make the bystanders more comfortable and direct approach to our fellow police officers.

-Josh

[NotNow]

Golf carts are cheaper and can hold required equipment.  Bicycles are feasable only with support from patrol car units.  Segways are not for regular patrol duties.  They can be used in specialized roles, such as transit stations and airports.

[urbanlibertarian]

Golf carts are cheaper and can hold required equipment.  Bicycles are feasable only with support from patrol car units.  Segways are not for regular patrol duties.  They can be used in specialized roles, such as transit stations and airports.

Looking at the photos I was thinking where do you put the shotgun and laptop?

[thekillingwax]

Just imagine how much fun it'd be if you got arrested and got to go to jail riding on the handle bars!

[Jason]

Great article!  I love the bit about the disgruntled officer leaving the men's room because he couldn't dismount his segway while on duty.

[Coolyfett]

Interesting I thought JSO already had this.

[Garden guy]

Segways are around the world..any city to embrase such advanced transportation alternative would be seen as a forward thinking modern city...something this ciyt know nothing about so i very much doubt this will ever happen here.

[fsujax]

I do see cops on bikes in Springfield. Mostly during the summer months.

[BridgeTroll]

These would not totally replace squad cars in these areas... they would lessen the need for the number required to patrol.  Arrests would still need a squad for transport.  As for equipment required... Modify the requirements for these officers.  An officer on a Segway, patrolling an area on a regular basis, gets to know the people, troublemakers, ebb and flow of daily life, and can address complaints or issues in a personal manner.

[NotNow]

That would be nice, but we can barely handle calls for service now.  Almost every Officer you see is on his/her way to a call or an administrative function.  The individual beats are too large to patrol on these types of vehicles and they are so slow that they would seriously slow response times.  We would have to add quite a few Officers anywhere we attempted this.  The bike and mounted units are independent and do not normally answer calls for service. 

This goes back to the manning issue.  JSO is minimally manned for the city's size.

[BridgeTroll]

Point taken.  I did not consider the availability of manpower to cover the area needed.  In the past we had discussed the old time police tactic of "walking the beat".  Officers on foot who knew the neighborhood and talked to the residents and shop owners.  You would admit surely that our police have lost that by moving into cars on a more or less permanent basis...

[Miss Fixit]

I attended a meeting this morning where it was announced that a federal program had just allocated $10,000 for bicycles for police officers in Springfield, downtown and the east side.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

That would be nice, but we can barely handle calls for service now.  Almost every Officer you see is on his/her way to a call or an administrative function. 

Signing the reciept at DD does 'sound' administrative. 

[poor taste, bad joke, feel free to delete whomever's moderating]