Keeping Guelph Safe ... Together.

Bike Patrol

The Bike Patrol unit began as a segment of the Guelph Police Service's Downtown/Tactical unit. At the beginning of 2006, the unit was transferred to Neighbourhood Services as part of a pilot project in response to increasing community requests for more foot and bike patrols in certain areas of the City. That pilot project resulted in the permanent implementation of a bike patrol unit at the Guelph Police Service.

Reporting to the Inspector of Neighbourhood Services, the unit consists of 10 officers. The officers are all members of one of the Service's five platoons, two from each platoon. These officers remain attached to their platoon, but are able to use a bike instead of a cruiser for their patrol duties. Training for the bike patrol positions is done through the International Police Mountain Bike Association. The unit has six bikes, and two Guelph Police Service cruisers are equipped with bike carriers, allowing officers to deploy their bikes from various locations across the City, as well as switching easily between bike and cruiser patrol.


One of the advantages of the bike patrol unit is the ability of these officers to patrol areas that are not easily accessible with cruisers, while also providing greater speed than patrolling on foot. For example, bike patrol officers can patrol areas such as City parks, trails, and townhouse complexes as well as the downtown core with much greater ease than officers patrolling in cruisers. The officers often pay particular attention to areas in the City that have been identified as having a greater rate of problems.
This unit works from May to October or November, weather permitting. During these months, the officers are equipped to patrol in any weather, day or night. One of the duties of this unit is to provide a highly visible officer presence in the community and to build relationships with community members, which includes attending community functions and patrolling. One of the objectives of the unit is to provide education and awareness about bicycle safety and laws regarding cycling under the Highway Traffic Act, especially to youths. These duties are in addition to carrying out enforcement of the Highway Traffic Act and criminal offences.