Funds OKd to Equip Police Bicycle Patrols
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved $7,200 to fully equip existing police bicycle patrols in Chatsworth and Van Nuys, and to outfit a new unit in North Hollywood.
The funds will be used to purchase a variety of items, including five bicycles at $650 each, special uniforms, lights, tool kits and tire pumps.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division has a 10-officer bicycle patrol and the Devonshire Division a seven-officer patrol. The department is expected to establish a three-officer bicycle unit in the North Hollywood Division.
Police said the patrols are particularly effective in areas of heavy pedestrian traffic and drug-related activity. Much of the equipment now used by bicycle officers is donated by community groups and the officers themselves.
Councilman Joel Wachs, the plan’s sponsor, said he expects the bike patrols to improve police service in the Sepulveda Corridor between Roscoe Boulevard and Nordhoff Street, which he represents. Bicycle officers also patrol the Panorama City Mall and will be assigned to the Lankershim Boulevard-Vineland Avenue area.
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