Police Chief orders officers onto bikes

Andy Bliss, Essex's Deputy Chief Constable, has launched Operation Velo, using two-wheel patrols instead of cars after officers on bicycles made more than 100 arrests in a pilot scheme last year.

Speaking from Meadows Park in Chelmsford where the initiative was launched, Deputy Chief Constable Andy Bliss, himself a keen cyclist, said, "Today has been fantastic, it’s only the first day of the operation and already we have people coming up to us saying how great it is to have more police on bikes out and about.

Operation Velo not only aims to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour but Andy Bliss also hopes it will increase police visibility throughout Essex therefore improving public confidence. 

The operation is to run for 6 months and will see more police on bikes throughout the county.

While Operation Velo is on, people in Essex are being asked to ‘Spot an officer on a bike’ for a chance of winning one of three new mountain bikes.

The competition will run from 1st May 2010 to 1st September 2010 and the public are asked to snap a pic if they see a police officer on a bike and either e- mail it to jenna.smith [at] essex.police.uk, text it to 07889703042 or post it to Jenna Smith, Press Office, Essex Police HQ, Sanford Road, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6DN.

A winner will be chosen at random every two months of the competition, the first on July 1, the second on September 2 and the third on November 1.