Four university police officers spent their weekend learning bike-patrol maneuvers and techniques in an effort to re-establish a bike patrol at Ball State.
The officers underwent bicycle training from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on six Trek-brand police mountain bikes, three of which were purchased recently by the university. The other three bikes were left over from a previous attempt at bike patrol about four years ago.
The training consisted of a lecture, obstacle course riding, bike maintenance, riding techniques (how to ride up and down steps or jump curbs) and formations for aerodynamic drafting.
Officer Brad Tucker, who oversaw the training, said Saturday's focus was on learning the skills. Sunday, he said, the officers put to use those skills and spent more time riding their bikes.
After completing their weekend training, the officers will patrol the same areas as that patrolled by officers in squad cars, which includes all of campus and the nearby neighborhoods.
"It's about 70 (percent) to 80 percent on campus, and then getting calls to go wherever off campus," Tucker said.
Of the officers who will be assigned bike patrol, one will be working the day shift. Three will be assigned to the afternoon shift - one of which will work security at the Indiana Academy - and two officers will work the midnight shift.
"The goal we set for ourselves is to do everything an officer in a car does," Tucker said.
"An officer who is patrolling on bike would be able to handle any call that may come up," Tucker said.
Patrolling on bike would also have benefits over patrolling in a car or on foot, he added.
Bikes allow for an officer to cut across sidewalks and grassy areas where an officer in a squad car would have to get to a scene by taking streets.
This is beneficial in afternoons when McKinley Avenue is gridlocked with traffic, Tucker said.
Bikes also allow an officer to interact with the community more than squad cars do, Tucker said.
Officer Jason Jordon, who underwent the weekend bike training, agreed.
"We're more approachable this way," Jordon said.
Jordon said the officers enjoyed the training sessions and look forward to patrolling the campus on the bikes.
Tucker said bikes will also enable the officers to get closer to buildings and other areas a car could not typically access.
"You see a lot of things that you would never see in a car," Tucker said of the officers' capabilities on bike.
An officer patrolling on bike will also be able to cover more ground than a foot-patrol officer, he said. Also, bike patrol officers arrive to a scene more quickly than an officer on foot could, Tucker said.
Officers on bikes will carry almost all the same equipment in accessory bags on the bike as an officer who patrols in a squad car carries in his vehicle.
Tucker said he can carry university keys, a portable breath test and a ticket book among other items.
"The more you pack, the more weight you have to carry around," Tucker said. "So if you can do without something, don't carry it."
Tucker, who has already been patrolling campus on bike for two weeks, said fatigue from riding a bike an entire 8-hour shift should not be an issue.
He said he covers about 30 miles per 8-hour shift, most of which is spent cruising at about 15 mph.
"As far as fatigue, I think it has helped me to stay more alert," Tucker said. "Everywhere you go, you have to peddle."
The exercise from riding the bikes is also beneficial to the officers, Tucker said.
Each of the three new Trek-brand police bikes cost about $700, Tucker said. In addition to the cost of the bike, about $300 was spent on safety gear and outfitting officers.
The university police paid for the uniforms for bike-patrol officers and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs paid for the bikes, Vice President Doug McConkey said.
"Initially, it's expensive to get it started, but it's a lot more cost-effective down the road," Tucker said.
He said police can maintain the bikes themselves, there is no gas cost with them and using the bikes saves on squad car wear and tear.
The previous attempt at bike patrolling lasted about a year, Tucker said, but then failed because of lack of funding and interest from officers. He said this time around the university is taking a more serious approach to the method because of the benefits to campus security.
Tucker is a certified bike-patrol instructor with the Indiana Law Enforcement. He and Officer Bill Ellington, who co-trained the training officers, underwent similar bike training at the University of Notre Dame about four years ago.
Tucker said he modified the Notre Dame training, which was four days long, for Ball State. He said the skills learned were the same, but that there was less distance riding than what Notre Dame requires.
Officers who underwent the training at Ball State volunteered to do so, Tucker said. He said no concrete plans have been made to train other officers, but he did not rule out that option.
Besides bike patrolling, other past attempts to modify campus security included a horse patrol, which ended about 10 years ago, Ellington said.
Tucker said caring for the horses was too expensive and time-consuming to benefit campus security, but that bike patrol would be different.
"There's no horse poop with bikes," Tucker said.
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