The police in Nelson have just undergone extensive training in how to fall off bike.
Now this may sound like a joke, but far from it, it’s going to give Police the edge when it comes to apprehending criminals in a built up environment.
Cycling coach Marianne Dralier has been teaching the Nelson Police technique, called ‘Tactical Speed Dismounting’, to catch people trying to evade arrest. Its basically a fancy way to fall off a bike deliberately, but it works.
Apparently the police must pass this training in order to use the bikes that were issued back in August. According to the article, they only use one bike at the moment, which is equipped with flashing lights, a siren, first aid kits and parking ticket books.
They’ve even gone so far as to create new uniforms for this type of policing, but they’re still waiting approval.
Cycle shorts, with a polo shirt emblazoned with the Police logo. I think if they were really serious they’d commission some proper cycling tops
Looks like its working too, as they’ve already caught a couple of bad guys using this method, and with 18 offices up for training, it looks like its game over the Nelson crooks.