Community on Wheels

Volunteer Citizen Bike Patrol…

Do you look forward to pedaling a quick hour or two on the Sacramento River Trail? Have you ever had your pleasure ride jarred by the discovery of fresh graffiti under your favorite bridge or of maybe asphalt chunks recently broken off the trail’s edge? Have you recently had to steer evasively around a pile of trash in your path? Then you might be the very person the Redding Police Department is looking for.
No, no, no. Not like that.

You sound like a natural candidate for the Citizen Bike Patrol, a program just launched by the RPD. As its name suggests, these are community members who, while out on a leisurely ride that they would be on anyway, can report anything they see wrong out there. They are all volunteers, they keep track of a minimum of two to four hours monthly, and to mark the official time of their patrol, they wear a blue “Citizens Patrol Volunteer” t-shirt to show the public that they are on duty.

RPD Sgt. Joseph Labbe, who supervises the program, says this shirt serves more than one purpose. “The idea is so that, one, we’re creating kind of a visual aid like, oh, there’s volunteers out here, and they are working closely with police department,” he explains. “If they see something, they’re going to report it but, two, they are also a kind of ambassador for the trail system and for the police department.” Volunteers are background checked, fingerprinted and carry photo ID cards. Their bikes are inspected to ensure police-level standards.

RPD Officer Joseph Lensing says that, should the issue needing attention be an unruly member of the public, no Citizen Patrol Volunteer will ever engage. “No enforcement, even though you may be mad and you want to enforce. You don’t do that stuff,” he stresses during a presentation to the Shasta Wheelmen. “You would call our dispatch … Basically, you’re keeping eyes out and letting us know what’s going on, and then we can handle it further.”

Citizen Bike Patrol member Pam Richardson describes three categories of incidents. “Category 1 calls are the fewest reported calls. They’re the in-progress calls that are a threat to life. These types of calls should be handled by calling 911,” she says.

For Category 2 incidents, the Citizen Bike Patrol volunteer calls dispatch. This can be for cracks in the trail or a downed tree branch, not emergencies, but needing attention as soon as possible. Category 3 is expected to be the most common report, which would address things like illegal camping and graffiti, and can be handled via email.

Richardson first heard about the Citizen Bike Patrol at a Shasta Wheelmen meeting. “I live on the river trail, so I thought that that would be a perfectly awesome addition,” she says, claiming 11 miles ridden the evening before. “I had always done my civic duty anyway – if I saw something or someone needed something – and I thought, this is a good idea and it helps our police department out.”

Al Masterson got an early heads up on the Citizen Bike Patrol from his wife, who recently retired from her president seat on the Redding Parks and Trails Foundation board. He thought it was a good idea, “to just meet people and tell them about the trail and promote the use of the trail because it’s one of the best assets that we have in Redding,” he says. “And a more secure trail makes people feel more comfortable to be out there walking and riding bikes.”

Sgt. Labbe, who’s served at the RPD for 17 years, says another goal is to help reassure people about the safety of the Sacramento River Trail. “We want to try from the police department side to sweep away any aura of unsafe, or at least minimize that,” Labbe said. The Citizen Bike Patrol is restricted to the pavement within Redding City limits, and dedicated to a course running along the river from the flat at the bottom of the Hilltop trailhead westward to the Ribbon Bridge.

He describes the new program as an official supplement for uniformed patrols, park rangers and the RPD bike team, which is stretched thin to cover both central downtown and the river trail. “That’s why they are insured. So they’re viewed as part of the police department,” he confirms. “They’re a volunteer and they don’t have arrest powers. That’s not their mission. Their mission is just to be a visual aid.”
So. Is the RPD looking for you? •

Citizen Bike Patrol
Redding Police Department
[email protected]