Pedal-power patrols a boon in big city

A crew of central Auckland cops are working on their pedal power, ditching their police cars for bikes to respond to the call of inner-city crime.

Constable Cole Edwards has led the charge – kitting out a team of cops with cycling gear and skills. The initiative follows similar schemes in many other big cities worldwide, where bikes have been credited with decreasing response times and increasing mobility.

‘‘We’re a bit faster, a bit more mobile and a whole lot more visible,’’ Edwards said.

The only downside,the 38-yearold said, was getting ‘‘a bit of grief’’ from other police teams when they were spotted out and about on bikes wearing shorts.

The constable had been pushing the scheme through for the past 18 months, with the first formal deployment of cops on bikes saddling up in January.

More than 10 officers have been trained, with grade one, two and three mountainbiking skills, as well as urban biking skills.

The main crimes picked up by the officers on bikes have been cars running red lights, drivers using cellphones while driving and people in cars not wearing seatbelts.

Edwards said he had only experienced one man attempt a getaway when he had signalled for him to pull over.

‘‘He got around 200 metres away and then got stuck in traffic,’’ he said.

Cops on bikes also had a high success rate in catching criminals with outstanding warrants, because being on a bike gave a better view of the road and those on it, he said.

People behaving disorderly, breaching liquor bans and generally causing mischief were likely to be spotted by a pedalpushing cop.

Self-confessed ‘‘BMX nut’’ Edwards hoped one day Auckland police would have a ‘‘dedicated bike squad’’.

‘‘All of the major metros in the world use them.’’