Monrovia : Bicycle Patrol Plan OKd
The City Council approved a $19,992 plan Tuesday to put police officers on bicycles to patrol downtown businesses and crime-infested neighborhoods beginning Dec. 1.
The pilot bicycle patrol program would involve two full-time officers and two part-time members of the Special Enforcement Team, riding Schwinn Sierra Mountain bikes provided at cost to the city by Monrovia Schwinn Cyclery, Police Chief Joseph A. Santoro said.
“The bicycle is fast and quiet,” Santoro told the council. “Suspects don’t even know you are there until you are next to them.” He said the bike patrols would be used in the late afternoons and evenings to maintain order in neighborhoods already targeted for drug and crime enforcement.
The funding will come from the police department’s Asset Forfeiture Fund, money that is seized from narcotics dealers and returned to law enforcement through the courts.
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