Pedal Patrol in Gear for 2nd Year

After more than a year of pedaling through the streets of Thousand Oaks, Sheriff’s Deputies Joe Galante and Kevin Donoghue look and feel a little lighter.

Their skin is tanned and pulled taut over their cheekbones, and their thighs look like beaten steel.

But more important than the obvious health benefits is that they have won praise from the department and community for their ability to put a face on area law enforcement while proving themselves an effective crime-fighting tool.

“It makes our job a lot easier,” said Capt. Chris Godfrey of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, which provides police services under contract with the city. “We sit out here on Olsen Road and for the most part respond to calls, but they’ve been able to get out there and better our communication with the community.”

Since starting full-time shifts in November 1996, the bicycle patrol has made 188 misdemeanor and 33 felony arrests along the business corridors in Thousand Oaks. In addition, the officers have made 1,295 investigative stops and responded to 210 calls for assistance.

Based at a substation in The Oaks mall, Galante and Donoghue, who usually dress in baggy shorts and white knit shirts with the word “police” stenciled across the back, spend more than eight hours each day wheeling through city streets.

In any given week they can expect to pedal more than 100 miles along the hilly streets and busy thoroughfares of Thousand Oaks.

Although they say the special patrol has given the department a new and more flexible way to protect the nation’s second-safest large city against crime, it’s the personal, bridge-building aspects of the job that have provided the greatest rewards.

“I think the real, immediate benefit is that we’ve been able to return to a time when beat cops walked the street and had a relationship with the people,” Galante said. “Over the past year we’ve been able to build up this rapport with the community that’s been very valuable.”

Councilwoman Linda Parks agreed, saying that maintaining the city’s status as one of the nation’s safest places depends on novel approaches to community policing, like the bike patrol.

“It’s been so successful that I’d like to see it expanded,” she said. “They’re a positive and much-needed presence out there in the community.”

Jeff Alexander, who manages a storage lot on Thousand Oaks Boulevard and helped lead the effort to organize a bicycle patrol, said that over the past year the patrol has had a clear effect.

“They’ve really made their presence felt here,” Alexander said. “I love the fact that they’re out there, and my customers do too.”

As an example, Alexander said, vehicle burglaries on his property have declined dramatically.

Dennis Carlson, owner of Carlson’s Building Supplies on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, said he has also noticed a change.

“We used to have a lot of nickel-and-dime vandalism, but that’s pretty much stopped,” he said.

Although charged with establishing a visible presence in commercial districts such as Thousand Oaks Boulevard and the Janss Marketplace, the bicycle patrol officers have the liberty of patrolling wherever they want.

Galante, a senior deputy, said he often speaks with Sheriff’s Department supervisors to identify problems and places where the bike patrol can help. One such instance was when recently convicted rapist Jose Zavala was preying on older women in and near the Thunderbird Mobile Home Park on Thunderbird Drive earlier this year.

“We tailored our patrol to coincide [with] when most of the attacks were happening,” Donoghue said. “I think it made residents there feel more safe.”

Department officials said they too have been impressed with the bicycle patrol and hope to soon expand it from five to seven days a week, which would be fine with the deputies.

“This is a great enforcement tool,” Galante said. “Besides, it’s the best job in the world.”