Officers use bicycles to patrol Morgan City

At first glance, Tyler Crouch and Carl Johnson may appear to be just out for a leisurely bicycle ride through Morgan City.

But, make no mistake, their mission is a serious one. Their goal is to build strong relationships between the police department and residents.

Crouch and Johnson, both police officers, began patrolling the streets of Morgan City on bicycles Monday. They attended a weeklong training session in New Orleans to become certified with the International Police Mountain Bike Association for their permanent assignment on bicycle patrol.

The Morgan City Police Department previously had officers patrol on bicycles “on a part-time basis,” but Crouch and Johnson are now assigned to bicycle patrol as part of their regular duties, Police Chief James Blair said.

“They’re instructed to patrol the neighborhoods to be more accessible to the public, to check on businesses,” Blair said.

The bicycle patrol won’t replace any of the officers’ normal patrols in Morgan City.

“It’s just enhancing what we already do,” the chief said.

Blair hopes the bicycle patrol will help officers interact more with members of the community.

Both Crouch and Johnson will spend one-third of their patrol hours on bicycles in neighborhoods and around businesses, Blair said.

Crouch said he likes the way patrolling on bicycles gives him a way to personally connect with community members and talk to them about their problems.

“We get a lot closer to them on these bicycles than we do in our units,” Johnson said.

Many times, residents’ only interaction with police officers is when police respond to a complaint. But this method of patrol lets the public see officers in a more positive light, Johnson said.

Officers are able to use all of their senses with the bicycle patrol and are “a lot more approachable” than they would be in police cars, Crouch said. Traveling through the community on bicycles allows officers to be more proactive, build respect with people and make the public more likely to cooperate with police, he said.

In addition to building personal relationships, the bicycle patrol lets residents easily see officers in the community. Crouch hopes that visibility will be a deterrent to crime.

Lt. John Schaff, who’s in charge of the department’s investigations division, said the community is what makes the department successful.

“The more help and support we have with them, the better police department we are,” Schaff said.

As part of that effort to build relationships with members of the community, the department has been hosting neighborhood watch meetings throughout the city during the past year, covering different sections of the city with each meeting.

Police will hold a neighborhood watch meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday for the area of the city bordered by Brashear Avenue to Railroad Avenue and from Front Street to Federal Avenue. The meeting will take place at Doric Lodge 205, 506 Second St.