Queensland police walked “the beat” until the first issue of bicycles in January 1896. Bicycles allowed police to patrol a wider area of a town. By the 1920s there was even a pedal powered night patrol in Brisbane but with the introduction of mobile patrol cars in the 1930’s, bicycle use was largely abandoned.
Image No PM0128 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum
Bicycles were reintroduced in 1992 when the Brisbane City Council donated two bicycles and helmets to Brisbane City Police Station. Between 1992 and 1998 bicycle patrols were performed on an ad-hoc basis during summer and spring months when staffing levels permitted. In 1998, City police began a three month trial of full time bicycle patrols which proved successful and bicycle patrols were subsequently adopted at Brisbane City Police Station on a full time basis. Since that time bicycle patrols have grown across the state, with more than 70 stations throughout Queensland either operating or developing bicycle patrols.
IMG0007 courtesy of Media & Public Affairs Group
Police Bike Squads have become a valuable part of general duties policing in many areas, gathering valuable intelligence and providing a rapid response to incidents within a police district. Bike Squad officers have helped apprehend several armed offenders and robbery suspects, apprehended numerous persons with outstanding Court warrants and have provided a preventative response when required. Bicycle Squads can also be heavily involved in the Policing of major events.
This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“From the Vault: Bicycles” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode