TROY, N.Y. – Mayor WM. Patrick Madden announced that the Troy Police Department is adding two new Recon Interceptor electric bicycles to its fleet of vehicles, removing barriers preventing community access to officers while maintaining their ability to respond quickly to emergencies.
“Our families have asked for more community policing as a way to foster better relationships with the officers serving their neighborhoods, and these new e-bikes will help us meet that goal of increasing interactions and partnership while maintaining our force’s ability to respond quickly in an emergency,” said Mayor WM. Patrick Madden. “This will make it easier for officers and residents to have more personal interactions in neighborhoods across the city.”
The intent of the Troy Police Department’s bicycle program is to equip officers to reach locations that are difficult to access by other means while also breaking down the physical barriers that a motor vehicle creates between officers and the community they serve. The electric bicycles will improve officers’ ability to access neighborhoods and areas that are harder to navigate to on a traditional bicycle, including Troy’s many hills. All bicycle-trained officers will be able to utilize the new e-bikes once a brief familiarization training is completed.
Troy Chief of Police Daniel DeWolf: “The addition of e-bikes to our toolbox for community engagement makes good sense. These bikes allow our officers to get closer and more approachable to the community while also providing an additional layer of safety and security for our neighborhoods and parks.”
The Recon Interceptor is manufactured by RECON Power Bikes, which specializes in creating e-bikes for law enforcement applications. According to RECON Power Bikes, the Recon Interceptor has a top speed of 28 miles per hour with about 50 miles of range between charges.
The addition of e-bikes to the Troy Police Department’s fleet follows years of work with the Troy Community Police Partnership: a collaborative effort between City Hall, the Troy Police Department, the Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group and our neighborhoods. For over two years, the Troy Community Police Partnership has performed a guided assessment of departmental operations, identifying and implementing changes consistent with a shared vision for a service-oriented department.
In May, the City of Troy and the Troy Community Police Partnership published a Progress Report on the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. “Recommendation 16” of this report identified our neighbors’ desire for additional community police officers to patrol by walking and biking in our neighborhoods as an effective method to build personal relationships and connections between themselves and members of the Department. Beyond the addition of e-bikes to the Troy Police Department’s fleet, six additional officers were hired to serve solely as community police officers in designated neighborhoods.
Remember, bicycle safety begins with all of us. Children under the age of 14 must wear bicycle helmets, but the City of Troy encourages all bicyclists to wear helmets and to use bike lanes where possible. At night, use a headlight and tail light, and wear reflective clothing. According to New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, all bicyclists are bound by the same traffic law provisions as motor vehicles (NYS VTL, Title 7, Article 34).
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