BREA : Council to Consider Bike Patrol Plan

The City Council tonight will consider a police proposal to set up a bike patrol team, a program which has gained popularity in recent years among police departments nationwide.

If the council approves the plan at its 7 p.m. meeting, Brea will become one of several Orange County cities to adopt the program, which was started in 1987 in Seattle.

“This gives us more personal contact with the community, more mobility, and indirect cost savings like less gasoline,” said Capt. Larry Baker of the Brea Police Department.

The council will consider a request for $15,000, which will be used to buy seven bicycles and equipment, and for necessary training expenses. The money will come from seized drug assets and will have no impact on general funds, officials say.

In a report to the council, City Manager Frank Benest said the bike patrol will be fielded on a trial basis in certain areas of the city--particularly Brea Mall and surrounding shopping centers during the holidays--until redevelopment of the downtown area, where the team will eventually be assigned, is completed next year.

“It will be excellent for the new downtown area, and this would allow us a period of time for evaluation,” Benest said.

Fifty acres of downtown Brea is undergoing a massive, $54.4-million redevelopment, which includes the construction of a 22-acre shopping center, cafes and townhomes. However, the project is on hold pending resolution of a suit against the city by displaced property owners.

Baker said officers on bike patrol will wear shorts and golf shirts, helmet, gloves and glasses. For protection, they will wear a bulletproof vest, a radio with lapel microphones, a baton, but no guns.

Although there are safety concerns, a study by Sgts. Garry Drlik and Ruben Hernandez of seven police departments with bike patrols have shown no major dangers, other than normal bicycle riding hazards.

According to Baker, the budget and officers for the bike patrol will come from two special units. Each currently has six officers and detectives who work on a rotation basis.

The bike patrol team will include six officers, who will work in pairs and be deployed on Fridays and Saturdays at malls, special events and police operations, much like the suppression teams, Baker said.

Based on the experiences of other cities, Baker said, residents have found the officers on bicycles more approachable.