By Michelle Donaghey Correspondent
BREMEN —  Officers on bicycles will soon patrol the town thanks to the Bremen police reserves, who have decided to start up the program which faded away around 2003, says Police Reserves Officer Phil Steele, who will be the first officer to ride around town.
“Years ago, the regular officers had a bike program. It got kind of pushed aside. It got dropped and forgotten about,” notes Steele who explained reasons the reserves decided to start it back up again.

“Good community relations, safety for the kids at the park and at the fair. I think it can be as good (for patrolling) in addition to the guys (officers) in the cars, especially in the summer months,” says the officer explaining “as a crime deterrent, you won’t hear that thing (bike) coming or be able to duck around a corner.”
The bike that was used years ago will be the first one that is being used by the patrol with Steele riding it as soon as it is back from Country Roads in Plymouth where a new battery pack was being added for the strobe light pack. His uniform, which was paid for through the town, is already in.
While he will be the sole officer on a bike for the first month and a half to two months, Steele says he won’t be the only one riding on patrol. The reserves hope to have four or five patrolman who would ride in pairs ideally “on and off on different evenings.” While they do not have another bike, they hope to order one soon. They have also just completed the interview process and have yet to announce who could be part of the patrol.
Steele says that the times that they will ride will be up to those who are part of the group. Another bicycle will also have to be ordered as well as uniforms for those who will ride.
“We hope to have fundraisers this summer,” said Steele, who added that the program will be funded greatly by community and businesses and the town. “We will try to be as self-sufficient as possible.”
“Everyone loved the program before and they liked seeing us,” said Steele who notes that they last time police road bikes patrolling they only averaged about “a minute longer than cars. We are just going with the flow and seeing what happens.”
Bicycle identification
Steele noted that the police reserves will still be completing registration and identification for bicycles in Bremen every third Sunday from 1-3 p.m. (Please check for exact dates which may vary.)
Steele notes that those who have not registered their bicycles should do so as “the ones that are stamped and registered we can trace back if they are stolen.”
Bicycles that are not stamped “fill up our (police department) basement. You can’t prove (a bicycle) is yours” says Steele unless it is registered or you have the original paperwork. It (registering) is a huge asset that you can have done for free."