Township Police to Start Bike Patrol

A rash of graffiti sprayed on bridges and littering in area parks has spurred Chief Dean Logan to propose creating a bicycle cop.

Logan, the acting police chief, asked Doylestown Township supervisors on Tuesday to give him the approval to create the bike patrol. They agreed unanimously.

"I think it’s a great idea," supervisors Tom Scarborough and Rick Colello said in the same breath.

A bike patrol will allow an officer to get into areas that are tough to reach from a police car, Logan said.

"We’ll be able to spend a lot of time during daylight hours in our parks trying to curb the vandalism," Logan said Tuesday night during the supervisors' meeting. "I think the image of the bike out there can do nothing but help the overall image of the township."

Graffiti and vandalism at the township's parks are not a new problem, but the construction of the Route 202 Parkway through Doylestown Township has offered mischief makers new targets.

One of the bridges over the parkway has been tagged with graffiti several times, Logan said.

The graffiti was removed after the first incident, but it returned within a week, Logan said. After that, the contractors decided to delay cleaning it until the parkway is ready to open, he said.

A bike would make patrolling the still-closed parkway an easier task.

"We have patrols back there on foot, but it’s hit or miss whether we’re able to find anybody," Logan said. "With the bike patrol, we’ll be able to get back in there."

Supervisor Ryan Manion said she has noticed the graffiti when she's been out running.

"There’s a ton of graffiti on those beautiful new bridges," Manion said, adding, "I’m glad to see us out there doing something about it."

Supervisor Barbara Lyons said the township also has gotten lots of recent complaints about dogs being allowed to run off their leashes. The bike patrol likely would be able to curb some of that, too, she said.

Logan said the officer he has in mind for the bike patrol position, Justin Notarfrancesco, has expressed an interest in the idea for the past three years.

One additional cost to the township would be buying the bike, which Logan estimated could run from $500 to $1,200 depending on the model.

After a brief training period, Logan said, Notarfrancesco could start the bike patrol as early as mid May.