Thread: Border Patrol in Erie adds bicycles

Published: June 23, 2012 12:01 AM EST
Updated: June 23, 2012 12:56 AM EST

Border Patrol in Erie adds bicycles

By TIM HAHN, Erie Times-News
tim.hahn@timesnews.com

Members of the U.S. Border Patrol have taken to two wheels in patrolling the lakeshore and other areas in the Erie region.

Eight agents based in the agency's local station in Fairview Township have been trained and are now certified to patrol on bicycles. Members took their first official rides Thursday.

Employing bikes in the Erie region is part of a new national strategy aimed at improving interaction with the public, said Robert Signorino, public-affairs officer for the Erie Border Patrol station.

"We're talking to the community to let them know what we do," Signorino said. "We don't want to hide behind the shadows."

The Border Patrol has had a presence in the Erie region since the 1920s, but became more established when a station was opened on Erie's bayfront in 2004. The agency has since grown from six agents in 2004 to more than 30, although exact numbers aren't released, and it is now based out of a 30,000-square-foot building off Route 98 in Fairview.

Bike patrols aren't new to the Border Patrol. Agents started riding bicycles in Imperial Beach, Calif., years ago, and the practice spread to other stations around the country, Signorino said.

Signorino, who is a member of the Erie station's bicycle patrol, said he was trained while stationed in Yuma, Ariz., and served on its bike patrol for more than three years.

Local agents will be patrolling areas of the Lake Erie shoreline and area marinas on a regular basis and will also be working special events, like tonight's Crosby, Stills & Nash concert at Presque Isle State Park.

The GT Avalanche bikes they are riding will allow agents better access to areas like beaches and marinas, Signorino said. But the main goal in patrolling on two wheels is to improve interaction with the citizens the agency serves, he said.

"We encourage people if they see a bike patrol out, come and talk to us," Signorino said.

The Border Patrol joins other area law enforcement agencies in protecting the community on two wheels. They include the Erie police, whose Neighborhood Action Team and saturation patrols go out on bikes as needed; and the Pennsylvania State Police, whose troopers occasionally ride bikes at special events like fairs.

TIM HAHN can be reached at 870-1731 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhahn.

Border Patrol in Erie adds bicycles | GoErie.com/Erie Times-News

I guess they don't need the heavy equipment on the Northern border since it seems to connect us with a more law abiding, diverse civilized country. I have never heard to the Canadians advocating taking over this country through illegal immigration and birth right citizenship, that message comes from the South where the citizens are more tribal. JMO