Essex Police deploy mountain bikes to aid Rural Engagement Teams ability to fight crime
Date of alert:
Thursday, 28 March 2024
Crime Ref:
Force:
Essex Police
Mountain bikes are proving key to Essex Police's Rural Engagement Team’s ability to fight crime and engage with our rural communities.
Rural engagement officers have had the bikes for about 18 months now. Early on, they proved their worth when Sergeant Ben Felton located an injured woman in Colchester’s Friday Woods within 15 minutes of being alerted.
He was then able to guide the ambulance service’s Hazardous Area Response Team to the isolated spot where she had fallen so she could be treated.
Ben says the bikes enable the Rural Engagement Team to get out and be visible in our rural communities, and the public loves that.
Cycle patrols are quicker than foot patrols so officers can cover many miles in a day, visiting three or four country parks or nature reserves and speaking to wardens, dog walkers, joggers and anyone else enjoying the countryside.
