BUENA PARK : Officers Get Bikes for Patrol Duty

Police here have a new weapon in their fight against crime: two Schwinn mountain bikes. Reserve officers have begun pedaling their way through city streets and alleys, looking for the proverbial bad guys.

“It means more visibility,” Police Sgt. Terry Branum said. “They can get into areas that cars just can’t get to.”

Reserve officers--volunteers who work several hours each month for the Police Department and who receive special training--are being used for the bike patrols because the city can’t afford to use regular officers, city officials said. The city has about 21 reserve officers.

The bicycle program was launched at the annual Silverado Days festival two weeks ago when reserve officers Rudy Gatto and Craig Odom scanned Peak Park for people using drugs, stealing or just getting out of hand. Clad in shorts, T-shirts, sneakers and safety helmets, the officers spent 60 hours riding around the park and nearby neighborhoods.

If it wasn’t for their guns and the word police written across the back of their shirts, the two could easily be mistaken for a couple of bikers just out for a ride. “We get a lot of double looks,” Odom said after handing out parking tickets. “One guy we pulled over said he didn’t know we were cops.”

Besides regular police work, the officers devote a large part of their time to conversing with people and introducing the program. They answered questions about their patrol while young children inquired if they could ride the bikes. “About 90% of what we are doing out here is public relations,” said Gatto, who volunteers as many as 60 hours a month to the department.

The 21-speed bikes were purchased with money from the Reserve Officers Assn. Equipment, including special gloves, helmets and lights, was donated by the Noon Lions Club.

Eventually, the bike patrols will be used to canvass areas in the city’s entertainment corridor, where tourists often fall prey to thieves. The primary goal is to reduce car thefts, officials said.

“Any place where there is a real concentration of cars, especially at the Wax Museum and Medieval Times,” is a likely target, Branum said. He said that car thieves know the show times and will work the parking lot when people are enjoying the entertainment.

Buena Park is following the lead of other Orange County cities that have special bike patrols. Since July, Santa Ana has suited up five officers in the southwest portion of the city, which has shopping areas and two large parks.

“It appeared to be a good way for the officers to patrol that isn’t easily detectable,” Lt. Mike Foot said. “Sometimes the officers are on top of the bad guy before the bad guy even knows it. . . . They are looking for a black and white.”