A new patrol will let Walton County sheriff’s deputies cover more ground in local communities.
Deputies from the Problem Oriented Policing Squad trained in bicycle-riding techniques and potential scenarios during a recent a three-day bike patrol course.
The course helps ensure deputies can control their bikes in crowds, Sgt. Jason Klawitter said.
Bicycling will let deputies patrol areas difficult or impossible to reach in a patrol car or by walking, he said.
Communities such as Hammock Bay, Seaside, and WaterColor may benefit from deputies on bicycles, Klawitter said. They are smaller areas with crowds and homes that make it difficult to police in a vehicle.
A patrol vehicle can muffle the outside world, Klawitter said.
“You can actually pay a little more attention to the area around you on a bike,” he said.
Deputy Dustin Cosson said people already are giving the bike patrols double takes because they’re unexpected.
“It’s going to give us a chance to have a bigger presence in the community,” Cosson said.
This is the first bike patrol for the Sheriff's Office, Klawitter said, so deputies are still working out the routes and schedule. The patrol likely will be used for crowd control or for an extra watch in neighborhoods experiencing burglaries, he said.
Residents who want to suggest an area in the county where bike patrols would help can contact Capt. Brian Schultz at 892-8186 or at bschultz@waltonso.org.
