Originally Posted by
MEversbergII
My local police force has bikes. According to one of the officers I'd asked a while back, the point of bikes isn't really top speed pursuit. Some stuff I remember him saying:
1) A PR thing - people seem to like to see police on bikes and they appear more accessible when they're not in motion.
2) Accessibility - bike cops can patrol places cars can't really fit. Evidently this decreased crime in a number of hot spots as a result (a foot path and an alley way).
3) Quiet - On at least one occasion, the police were able to drift right up on top of some suspects without them noticing and affect an arrest (they do train take-downs from the saddle).
4) Recon - easy to stop in odd spots and watch, easier to keep an eye around themselves than in a car.
My wife is a cop, and has worked as a bike cop for two 6-month rotations. One other task they have here is they handle all the protests/demonstrations. The bike can be as an impromptu barrier if needed.
As for the idea that a bike needs to be fast like in the OP... that isn't very realistic. Most of the bike cops here aren't in great shape. They aren't going to be chasing down any serious cyclist (nor would they likely be allowed to unless the crime was serious... just too dangerous). They can easily catch someone on foot with a mountain bike though. Really, it's more important to have a bike that is tough, low maintenance, and reliable.