Fargo police shifting bike patrols

• Fargo Police

30 to 40 officers are on bikes, mostly in downtown.

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Fargo police are upping the ante in apartment areas by strategically placing bike patrols in problem spots. The increased enforcement comes after a spike in car prowlers, break-ins, and thefts. At any given moment, it's not hard to find an officer on a bike, patrolling the streets of Fargo, but what is more unique; those officers switching locations to crime ridden neighborhoods to catch criminals in the act.

We caught up with Officer Kris Jacobs in South Fargo, just one of the target spot with this patrol. 30 to 40 officers are on bikes, mostly in downtown. Now, some are moving south and west to groups of apartments, like near Scheels and Olive Garden. All places with recent trouble. The officers quietly weave in and out of driveways, sidewalks, and streets and in between buildings and garages. Most of the effort is at night.

Kris Jacobs – Fargo Police Department: “It's a lot lower profile so we can sneak up on the people that are possibly causing burglaries. We've had a lot of garage burglaries lately and the bikes have been very instrumental in stopping some of these burglaries.”

Two officers usually patrol those neighborhoods together. That's for their safety, should a situation escalate. Bike patrols had to go through two days of training and usually cover their own beats.

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