A group of Burnaby Mounties is going back to basics this summer, spending time on two wheels rather than four.
From now until October, Burnaby RCMP’s bike patrol unit will be crisscrossing the city, fighting crime and building relationships with the public.
It’s all part of a pilot project for the detachment.
RCMP Cpl. Sharon Matharu is in charge of the six-member unit and explained the goal is not only to patrol the city but also engage the community and interact with the public.
She said the bicycles can often go where the squad cars can’t, like trails, park areas and alleyways.
“We’re a little more approachable on the bike versus some of the members on the cars,” Matharu told the NOW. “We can engage with the public a little bit more.”
The group works closely with the detachment’s crime analysts to identify high crime and problem areas in the community to target during their patrols. So the unit could end up just about anywhere in the city.
“We’re going to be everywhere, there’s not going to be any areas we’re not in,” Matharu said, noting the bike patrol also plans to be at many of the large festivals in the city.
The ultimate goal is for the bike patrol to become permanent.
And based on the early response – the team has been out on the streets for the last month – residents and businesses like the idea.
“That interaction has been really good,” Matharu said.
Const. Ben Oliver had been doing general duty in a car for eight years with the Burnaby RCMP and jumped at the chance to join the bike patrol team.
Not only is it a nice change for the veteran officer, but he said the response from both people and businesses has been positive.
“Everybody takes a peek, all the business owners we talk to, they just love us,” Oliver said.
Matharu is quick to point out members on the bike patrol are regular police officers who will be dealing with events as they happen.
Several other RCMP detachments around the Lower Mainland have their own bike patrol units.
