Wheely new patrol for Port Alberni RCMP

Members of the Port Alberni RCMP are getting out of their squad cars and hopping onto bikes this summer.

The city’s RCMP detachment is adding a new eight-person bike squad to its team as part of its Crime Reduction Strategy implemented in October.

Not only does a bike squad get the RCMP back to the “roots of policing,” but “it gets us out to the public,” said Cpl. Andrew Burton.

A bike squad is not new to Port Alberni, RCMP Staff Sgt. Lee Omilusik said, although it’s been a few years since they have had a presence on city streets.

“As members get transferred we lose the expertise,” he explained.

The part-time, seasonal bike squad will be used in targeted areas, said Burton – areas where there is a stronger need for police intervention, such as the downtown core and the old Sea Cadet Park across from the Port Alberni Train Station.

“It makes everyone feels safer,” said Burton.

The bike squad will go wherever there is a problem, Omilusik said. He encouraged people who are having problems in their neighbourhood to call the RCMP and let them know.

Omilusik added that the bike patrol is advantageous to the RCMP because members can often come up on a scene quicker than if they are in a vehicle and having to battle traffic.

“It seems to be a higher visibility when you see the bikes,” he added.

“It’s like foot patrol: you get out and talk to more people. It’s more personal.”

Officers on bikes will patrol in five- or six-hour shifts, which means they will ride 50-60 kilometres per shift.

Four members of the Port Alberni bike squad recently passed the mandatory week-long training course, complete with 10-hour days and 50-60 kilometres of bike riding in a day of training.

They also learned how to keep themselves hydrated, which will be important because the seasonal bike squad will be patrolling the streets of Port Alberni in the hot months between June and October, Burton said.