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San Antonio Police Department
DOWNTOWN
FOOT & BIKE PATROL |
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HISTORY
For almost as long as there has been a
downtown area of San Antonio, there have been police foot
patrol officers "walking the beat." Horse mounted
patrols, used throughout the nineteenth century and
into the early 20th century, were replaced by motorcycles
and automobiles shortly after World War I, but the Foot
Patrol officer remained the primary responder in the
central business district of San Antonio. In 1990 Foot
Patrol officers were joined by officers on bicycles, and
the Downtown Foot and Bicycle Patrol Unit was born.
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TO SEE AND BE SEEN
The Downtown Foot and Bicycle Patrol
Unit focuses on being a visible deterrent to crime and
an approachable source of assistance and information
within the downtown area of San Antonio. Although the
San Antonio Park Police patrol the popular "Riverwalk"
area, the SAPD Foot and Bike Patrol Unit patrols the rest of
the downtown area that is heavily populated both night and
day by tourists and conventioneers, as well as
local office workers and
shoppers.
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Downtown San Antonio also attracts large
crowds of local residents and tourists for events such
as the annual week-long Fiesta, sporting events, parades,
and other occurrences. Foot Patrol officers can mingle
easily with crowds, while Bicycle Patrol officers on
their bikes can see over the heads of most pedestrians
and over most vehicles. The bikes also provide speed
and mobility through crowded or narrow streets.
Downtown Foot and Bike Patrol officers are also encouraged
to work closely with business owners and citizens to help
develop solutions to law enforcement-related problems
in the Downtown area. The flexibility, approachability and
problem-solving interaction of the Foot and Bicycle
Patrol is consistent with the San Antonio Police
Department's focus on Community Policing.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:
Although the primary assignment
of Foot and Bike Patrol officer is to patrol the downtown
area, many officers also participate in community
activities. Children are able to identify with and
communicate easily with bike officers, not only because the
officers are not in patrol cars, but also because the
kids can see themselves riding bikes, just like the
police officers.
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JUDGING SUCCESS
The success of the SAPD Downtown
Foot and Bicycle Patrol program can be seen in two ways:
(1) A statistically-safer downtown area, and (2) The opinions
of downtown residents and business owners concerning the
effect of the Foot and Bike Unit.
The Executive Director of the Downtown Business Alliance
recently made this statement: "The Downtown Foot/Bicycle
Patrol Unit definitely provides a safer environment for the
downtown community, and is the best thing to ever happen to
downtown (San Antonio)".
Downtown San Antonio is known as a major tourist attraction,
and such events as the yearly FIESTA attract hundreds of
thousands of enthusiastic participants to parades and large block
parties in the Riverwalk and Downtown area. Because of the
presence of the Foot and Bike Patrol, San Antonio's
Downtown area is among the safest (least crime) of any
area of the city.
The visibility and approachability of the Foot and Bike
Patrol officers is especially important. In one recent incident,
a tourist approached a Bike officer for information, but the tourist
suffered a heart attack during the conversation. The
officer saved the man's life by administering CPR until
the EMS unit arrived.
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FOOT & BICYCLE PATROL UNIT DATA
LOCATION AND HOURS:
The Downtown Foot & Bike Patrol Unit operates
out of a "mini-station" at 240 East Houston Street,
in the heart of the downtown area. The office is open
365 days a year, from 7:30 am until 3:30 am.
The telephone number is (210)207-7764(V/TTY).
UNIT STAFF & TRAINING:
The Downtown Foot/Bike Unit is a special unit within the
Central Patrol Service Area. Foot & Bike is
under the direction of Lt.
Charles Garcia, assisted by five sergeants.
Unit staff includes 2 Foot Patrol officers and 46 Bike
Patrol officers, working in two 10-hour shifts (the lieutenant and sergeants also ride
bicycles). Each Bicycle Patrol officer (including supervisors)
has completed a rigorous 40-hour Bicycle Certification
class at the Training Academy before joining the unit.
EQUIPMENT:
Bicycle Patrol officers ride "mountain bikes" that are
heavy-duty enough to withstand being ridden day after day,
often over curbs or down stairs, through inclimate weather,
and still provide reliable and safe transportation. The
bikes are equipped with headlamps and reflectors as well
as a back rack and carry-case. Presently, the unit
has 60 bicycles in its fleet, and a full-time civilian mechanic
is in charge of fleet maintenance (Bike Patrol bikes plus all
bikes at the Substations.)
Both Bike and Foot Patrol
officers wear full SAPD patrol uniforms, although the Bike
officers may wear special SAPD bicycle uniforms with shorts during summer and
dark fatigue trousers during the winter. All officers
carry radios; many also carry hand-held MDT units (mobile
data terminals). |
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