Originally Posted by Rex G

Some of them; it depends on agency policies/procedures. Ditto. Usually not. I am sure some of them do.

I am not a bike cop myself, though we tried to start a bike patrol in 1985, and my sergeant at the time sent a letter up the chain of command. The command staff rejected the idea with extreme prejudice. In the 1990's, after it became trendy, my employing agency took a huge leap into bike patrol, assigning hundreds of officers to it, a few volunteers, but mostly mandatory assignment of rookies just off training. By this point, I liked my shift, which was nights, and liked being a field trainer, both of which I would have to give up to be a bike officer, so I did not volunteer. Then, hiring slowed, attrition decimated the ranks, and most bike officers had to be put into cars, simply because we patrol a huge area, larger than one of the smaller states, IIRC. Now, the officers on bike assignments patrol the nightclub area downtown, the larger parks, and one of the greenways in an outlying area, where the locals have enough political stroke to get what they want.

There are also bike officers who patrol outside their normal shift hours, being paid by private businesses, local civic/business groups, and homeowners' associations, functioning as on-duty police officers, and supervised by the on-the-clock supervisors in their areas. These officers are doing because it they like to ride, and are using bikes and related equipment thay have bought with their personal funding. I have considered doing this type of moonlighting myself, if the right opportunity presented itself, and would certainly think of building a single speed or fixie, set up as a cross bike, for this task.

Disclaimer: I do not work for the PD of my listed hometown of Bellaire, but for a much larger agency in the area. I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you. Just kidding! Really, I am not supposed to discuss policies and procedures while being identifiable as a member of my agency; only the PIO is supposed to do that.

Originally Posted by Rex G

With all due respect, lumping all police together as being of one mind is just not realistic. While an agency's hiring practices may tend to select certain personality types or political leanings, and family traditions may tend to influence the applicant pool in a region, overall, we are a diverse group. Large agencies, especially, reflect this. While my agency's demographics to show the majority are still "white" males, a meeting last week, with the command staff and captains present, plus employees reps from the various divisions, showed that the people actually running the show are a very diverse in appearance, and the open forum nature of this quarterly meeting quickly reveals we are not all of the same political and philosophical leanings.