A SPECIALIST police bicycle patrol aimed at improving road safety awareness within the community enjoyed a successful maiden shift in Wangaratta last week. Sergeant Phil Pelgrim and Senior Constable Matt Jones donned their cycling vests and took to the streets for the first time on Friday afternoon, as part of an initiative expected to spread throughout the Wangaratta police service area (PSA) over the remainder of the summer. The duo enjoyed instant results, arresting a male and female on Murphy Street who were both wanted on warrants, issuing a penalty notice to another individual for possessing an offensive weapon, and assisted Ambulance Victoria in a cardiac arrest response. Sgt Pelgrim said it was part of a wider neighbourhood policing focus for the rural city. “In my observations – eight or nine out of 10 individuals on the street riding bikes have no helmet – I’d like to see that improve,” he said. “We’re trying to gain some compliance and improve the (road safety) stats – we talk about drivers and distraction offences, but generally we’re trying to get out and about meeting the community, so the focus is on neighbourhood policing. “We’re happy to roll out the awareness that we will be active and patrolling and it’s a service to the community we’re proud to do.” The initiative was rolled out in Wodonga earlier this year, and Sgt Pelgrim said patrols could be deployed across the North East wherever they were needed most. “It just required someone locally to pick up that ball and run with it – we’ve done that now and during the summer particularly, we’ll be out and about on patrol on our bikes, and we’ll be talking to people and focusing on the areas of road safety which are important to the community,” he said. “It won’t just be restricted to Wangaratta, it’ll be rolled out right across the Alpine region (and Moira Shire) - we’ll be available as a bike patrol unit as (local area commander Inspector Ashley Mason) sees fit in terms of the different public events which are scheduled. “Beechworth, Bright, even here in Wangaratta, there are some really good bicycle clubs who will be the champions of tomorrow, but it’s also about educating others.”
