The Sioux City (IA) Police Department on Monday announced that it would be assigning some of its officers to bicycle patrol.
According to KTIV-TV, 20 officers have been trained to patrol on bicycles, and the agency recently purchased five fully outfitted bikes for them to use.
The agency says that the use of bicycles can potentially improve response time to areas that are not easily accessible to squad cars, and that an added benefit is increased interaction with citizens.
Sergeant Jeremy McClure said, "It gives a chance to get out of the cars and just get near people so that way we can get on the trails or in the neighborhoods, places that we typically wouldn’t always get to be, and have easier contact with people. When we are in the cars we are just kinda zipping by, but on the bikes we can take a little bit more time, stop, say 'Hi,' get to meet and greet some of the kids in the neighborhood, and talk to the adults that live in the neighborhood."
