Our Huntley Police Department’s bicycle patrol is in action again. The program, which has been in force for several years, is designed to interact with our citizens. It will not replace the normal patrol duties of HPD but rather give it an extended outreach to the community during summer months.
I had the pleasure of attending a roll call for the unit and was very impressed with the attention our officers gave to understanding the purpose of the alternate patrol. Officers will be assigned their normal duties but are given the discretion/assignment of patrolling their area using the bike patrol aspect. This will include but is not limited to: riding patrol, monitoring parks and public areas as well as crowd control, parades and selected need for additional police presence.
Depending on manpower and need, the units will normally consist of 4 to 6 officers. Their uniforms will be a white pullover with arm patch and chest identifiers (HPD) and dark shorts. In the near future, the pullover’s color will be changed to royal blue and black with “police” lettering prominently displayed. Their bicycles are more state-of-the-art then I remember having 50 years ago. The remaining gear consists of the standard department requirements.
I would like to give a special thanks to Deputy Chief Klunk for permitting my attendance at a bike patrol roll call and to Supervising Sergeant Scott Sullivan for answering all my questions about the program. And last but not least, to the men and women of the Huntley Police Department who “serve and protect” all of us every day, 24/7. May God bless you and keep you safe.
• An Article by Robert J. Gienko and the NW/NHN Committee
