Police officers patrolling the Wilkens Precinct will now be able to do so on new bikes, thanks to a contribution from the 40 West Lions Club.
The southwest Baltimore County philanthropy group donated three new mountain bikes to the precinct, during the Jan. 13 meeting of the Wilkens Police and Community Relations Organization.
"It's things like this that give us the ability to update our equipment without straining our budget," said Capt. Douglas Irwin, commander of the precinct.
The local police station has six bicycles, often used to patrol residential areas and community events like parades. But the six were old and needed to be replaced, said Ofcr. Tom Wareheim, who attends the monthly WPCRO meetings at the Maiden Choice School in Arbutus in his role as community liaison for the Wilkens Station.
"As one of the bike riders, I appreciate the bikes," Wareheim said to the group of 40 people. "I'll enjoy riding these rather than the old ones."
With an increased number of street robberies in the precinct, which includes Arbutus, Catonsville and Lansdowne, Irwin said officers patroling on more dependable bikes could make a difference.
"People don't expect to see a cop on a bike," Irwin said.
Darien Manley, treasurer of the 40 West Lions Club and a retired chief of the Montgomery County division of the Maryland National Capital Park Police, said the group decided to make the donation after Irwin attended one of the group's meetings.
"A question was raised about what the club could do to assist them in their mission of protecting the community," said Manley, whose parents, Jack and Berchie Manley, a former 1st District councilwoman, and sister, Deana Holler, are also members of the club.
Manley said that his mother, who had been instrumental in funding the bike patrol in Baltimore County as a member of the Baltjmore County Council, asked Irwin about the condition of the precinct's bike patrol.
"They mentioned that many of the bikes were in disrepair, so we decided we were going to help them," said Darien Manley, who assembled the bikes before they were delivered to the school for the Tuesday evening meeting.
"Bike cops are near and dear to me, because I helped start our bike patrol with my agency many years ago," he said. "I really understand the value of removing the barriers of the car and the glass and allowing the officers and the public to interact in a very casual way and cordial manner."
It improves relations between police and the community, Manley said.
"I had officers that were on horses and on motorcycles," Manley said. "It's amazing when you throw those different modes of transportation in, how the community accepts your officers and how more willing they are to communicate with them, whether it's to share cordial 'Hellos' or to share information, which benefits everybody."
After the meeting, Irwin said the bicycle donation was the latest example of how the community has been generous with the precinct. WPCRO recently provided funds for three officers to attend the Reid Institute to learn a special technique of interviewing and interrogation, he said.
The group also paid for an officer to receive training in Florida to become a school resource officer, Irwin said.