By AMBER SOUTH
@ShipNewsGirl
SHIPPENSBURG — Traversing the town on two wheels over the past five weeks has allowed at least one Shippensburg Police officer to improve his relationship with the community.
Officer Thomas Young said two to three people approach him every shift he is on bicycle patrol. Most of the time it is just to say they like the idea of cops on bikes, but he sees the improved communication as the biggest benefit of the young bike-patrol program so far.
“People are more, they feel more comfortable approaching me. I have people walk up to me and talk to me that normally probably wouldn’t,” he said.
The bike-patrol program Young spearheaded began functioning in late March just as warmer weather began creeping into the area. Chief Fred Scott said at a recent borough function that bike patrols were working “great” so far.
Shippensburg Police used bike patrols years ago and for a brief time last winter, but this time they want it to stick as long as weather allows.
As such, Young has been trying to persuade other officers to get certified for bike patrols. He and officers Brad Goyt and Charles Pyatt received certification through a free program at the Army War College, Carlisle, this winter that encompassed basic knowledge of maneuvering a bike for police work.
“There’s no reason why the other guys can’t do it,” Young said doing bike patrols.
Young wanted to get bike patrols going in the first place partly based on the belief that an officer can get around faster and more efficiently on a bike rather than in a cruiser or on foot. So far he has found that he can get from one side of the 2-square-mile borough to the other in less than five minutes.
“I know in the last week I’ve had two calls when I’ve been on the other end of town and had to hurry up (to get to the other side),” he said.
Scott has said that an incident during the brief time bike patrols were done last year proved that an officer on a bike can usually get to an incident faster than an officer in a patrol car.
When he’s not pedaling fast to a reported incident, Young can be found concentrating his patrols on particular areas of town. On weekdays, he can be seen riding around Memorial Park and in the area of Shippensburg’s middle and high schools around the time students get out.
“I just try to keep an eye on things and make sure everyone can get home,” he said.
Young also tries to regularly ride around the area of Burd and Fort streets, which are popular areas for Shippensburg University students to live, and hopefully prevent any incident that may arise.
Any number of officers can be on bike patrol at once, but there must be at least one officer available to operate a patrol car, Young has said.
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Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4771.