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You see them in their patrol cars daily. You might nod, give a smile or just wave.
There is something about on duty patrol cars that just make you feel safe, but would you ever stop them unless there was an emergency?
Maybe you just want to be able to talk to the law enforcement in your community, but don’t know how to approach them.
This is one of the reasons the 569th U.S. Forces Police Squadron has rolled out their new bicycle patrolling program geared toward interacting with the community and keeping children safe.
“We are out here to talk and be friendly to the community,” said Senior Airman Adam Ross, 569th USFPS bike patrol lead. “We are building trust so members of the community will talk to us and let us know what is happening out there.”
The new program, which began June 1, consists of six bicycle patrolmen with two personnel on duty from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. They have already responded to some of the community’s concerns about things like cars speeding through housing or simple vandalism on the playground.
“As soon as we hit the road we were getting information and positive feedback from the community,” Ross said. “We were able to notify some of the vehicle patrolmen about what to look for during certain hours of the day.”
The bicycle patrol carries personal business cards and many of the children living in Vogelweh housing already know them by name. Places like the community center and Armstrong’s even have their personal cell numbers.
“We can respond to calls quickly and sometimes we can get to an incident quicker than a patrol car because we can utilize things like parking lots and sidewalks,” said Ross.
The new bicycle patrol is the face of the 569th USFPS. They are able to see more and get one-on-one time with members of the community.
“We are the same patrol, just a different uniform,” added Ross.
Any community member trying to get in touch with the bicycle patrol can call the 569th USFPS law enforcement desk at 489-6060 or commercial at 0631-536-6060.
