Police in Prince George are once again mounted. Five members of the Downtown Enforcement Unit (DTEU) have saddled up on mountain bikes to patrol the city core, augmenting the cruisers that will also be out and about.
The DTEU's commander, Cpl. Kent MacNeill, was already certified for bicycle policing, and now he has been joined by Constables Dustin Dahlman, Dan Grieve, Catherine Pescolla and Candace Slaunwhite.
"It was an option and we all applied for the position off of general duty watches," said Slaunwhite.
They also represent a changing of the guard for the DTEU. The first unit's members have completed a year on the core-focused team and have now been cycled back into other RCMP duties, allowing these new members to join. MacNeill said the Prince George detachment's intentions are to move members on and off the downtown unit on an annual basis.
"The crime stats have certainly lowered dramatically," since the DTEU kicked off in the spring of 2010 said MacNeill. Part of their effectiveness is close contact with both the criminal element and the everyday public and that will be enhanced by using the bikes, he said.
More than just a whimsical curiousity, though, "it is a gruelling course," to become police-bike certified, he explained. Each member must learn how to ride their bikes in a law enforcement context - everything from tactical manoeuvres to challenging terrain, to self defense, all using the bicycle as both transportation and tool.
"It was physically demanding. I enjoyed it a lot," said Slaunwhite. "We are more secretive, more quiet on the bikes, and more approachable to business owners and people on the street. They wave us down."
Over the duration of the five-day course, each applicant had to ride at least 300 kms. All four were more than up to the physical tasks, said MacNeill. Slaunwhite rides for fun anyway, with the blood spots on her shins to mark this week's off-road activities. Dahlman is a cross-country rider and Grieve has done downhill mountain biking in his spare time. Pescolla is about to set off on her third Cops For Cancer tour.
Prince George detachment spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass, himself certified for bike policing, said the use of bicycles in the downtown gives the police advantages like stealthily and speedily covering alleys, parking lots, grassy areas, tight building configurations, etc. even when they don't intend it.
"We have literally rolled right up behind drug deals going on in front of the members, and the suspects did not notice the members coming up to them," Douglass said.
All the new members were enthusiastic about meeting the public and merchants of the downtown, to get their new positions rolling.
