The Johnstown Police Department started the Bike Patrol in 1996. While there are many advantages of having a bike patrol, some of the best benefits include cost and accessibility. The cost to purchase and maintain a bike compared to a fully equipped police cruiser is drastically less. Bikes also allow officers access to more places and allow them to observe more than they typically would from the confines of a cruiser.

Other benefits that the Bike Patrol offers are:

Chances for officers to interact with citizens by taking down the barrier of a car door

Low profile patrolling in areas known for drug trafficing, vandalism, and other problems

We will continue to operate the bike patrol unit as it has proven to be a very successful tool in deterring crime and making officers more visible in areas that have a high volume of pedestrian traffic. For example, bicycles are used during the annual Folk Fest which attracts more than 100,000 visitors during a two and half day period.