Bike Patrol

GRANTS, N.M. – While waiting on new police cruisers to become available for Grants Police Department, the agency is coming up with ways to stat active and combatting crime in the city.

Bike patrol is not new to GPD, but it is a form of patrol that has been lost to the department for many years. Grants Police Chief Jeff Marez has seen an emergency situation develop as several of his police cruisers began to break down right before and just after the took over as chief. There was a point where Marez was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough police cruisers for all of his officers. A spark was ignited in Marez that began a new form of policing for Grants: Bike Patrol.

The City of Grants has purchased four bikes that will aide the police in their mission to keep the city safe. Officers will ride in pairs when they go out on bike patrol, they will drive with the bikes attached to the back of a cruiser and when they stop at a park or a walking trail, they will dismount the bikes from the cruiser and look to keep the community safe. If bike patrol arrests a suspect, one of

If bike patrol arrests a suspect, one officer can stay with the detainee and another can ride to get the police cruiser and bring it around. The bikes mount securely on the back of GPD’s police SUVs and can be moved, while attached to the vehicle, so that access to the trunk can still be maintained.

The bikes first arrived in town, and were on a dry run, when the Black Cap Bandit attacked Wells Fargo on June 7. Marez said the bikes have been a great way to increase public visibility and keep would-be-criminals from committing crimes in the public parks or on public walkways through the city.

Marez explained that the department is committed to enforcing public safety, and while many cruisers are in disrepair, GPD will continue its efforts. Bike patrol is not new to GPD, but the return of these patrols is keeping walking trails in the city safe, and increasing public trust as GPD increases its visibility.