A project the Victoria Police Department piloted over the spring and summer, which dedicated resources to bike patrols in Esquimalt and the downtown core, has been deemed a "successful demonstration" of integrating the project into regular patrol work.
The Bike and Beat Deployment project kicked off in the spring where two officers on two different patrol shifts deployed on mountain bikes to respond to calls for service, to provide a visible police presence, and to conduct "proactive criminal enforcement."
Patrol officers were often faster than officers in cars, according to a department news release. Twice they found "high-risk" missing people, and on one occasion, the bikers say they went from Mary Street and Esquimalt Road to Fisherman’s Wharf before a patrol member could get there in a vehicle.
"The officers felt a greater community connection and were constantly being approached by people to engage in casual conversation and ask questions. The high visibility of the officers provided countless positive interactions with community members and business owners," the news release reads. "On one occasion officers were waved down by a business owner who was getting a large amount of theft from his store. Officers set up covert operations on the store and effected an arrest on-scene."
VicPD says the project showed the patrol division does have some capacity to provide beat and bike patrols, though it can be quite limited at times due to the heavy call volumes.
Plans are underway for a more robust and focused bike deployment in both Esquimalt and Victoria next summer, as well as an additional community policing plan for the entire patrol division.
