Photo: City of Grande Prairie

By Shaun Penner

Bike Patrols

Grande Prairie Enforcement Services rolls out bike patrol unit for summer

May 20, 2020 | 11:36 AM

City of Grande Prairie Enforcement Services has created a full time, four-person bike unit that will be patrolling around the Swan City this summer.

Program Manager, Sgt. Kelly Kokesch, says the department has utilized foot and bike patrols in the past, but this year they decided to go forward with a full time unit.

“So you’ll see two officers out every day, patrolling the parks and downtown area, concentrating on homeless issues, camps and keeping our park corridors safe, and engaging the community as much as we can.”

Kokesch says that the department found an increased sense of connection between officers and the public last summer as they increased the number of foot patrols. He feels the full time bike patrols will help build on that connection.

“This year, we wanted to take a new angle on this and implement full time bikes,” said Kokesch. “I believe we’ll have a very positive interaction with the public, business owners and the community as a whole.”

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Though the focus for the bike unit will be the downtown core and parks areas, Kokesch says they will be looking to hit every neighbourhood in the City by summers end. The bike unit will be deployed between now and the end of August.

“If you see our bike patrol out and about, make sure you wave and say hi to them. They’re out there to help you stay safe, and if you have any concerns or anything that we can follow up on, make sure to engage our officers.”