UTPD Issues New Bike Unit To Patrol Campus and West Campus

Any person that has traveled Guadalupe Street during the weekday is undoubtedly familiar with the masses of automobile and pedestrian traffic that clog the street. While this traffic is frustrating for any average work-goer, it also creates a delay in the University of Texas Police Department’s response to crime calls.

To combat this situation, UTPD issued a new bike squad on Sept. 17. The unit intends to reduce the amount of time it takes to arrive at a crime scene and serve as a reassuring police presence for UT students. UT campus is nestled in a heavily populated area of Austin, which makes it difficult for police cars to patrol the area, according to UTPD officer Layne Brewster. On bikes, however, Brewster said the police can patrol more thoroughly and quickly.

The majority of crimes that occur in the 78705 ZIP code are theft, specifically of bicycles. According to city data, the 78705 ZIP code covers the area spanning from 20^th Street to 38^th Street, and from West of I-35 to around Lamar Boulevard. This includes UT Campus and its surrounding areas. Brewster says the bike unit covers UT Campus and West Campus. According to APD’s Crime Report Search, crime activity in the West Campus area has not changed significantly since the UTPD issued the bike unit.

The Crime Report Search shows that the West Campus area has an average of 35 reported bike thefts a month. Since the bike unit has been issued, in the time interval of Sept. 17 – Oct. 15, 33 bike theft reports have been reported. However, Brewster says the police unit decreases the time it takes for police to arrive at a scene on and around UT and West Campus.

According to officer Layne Brewster, who is not on the squad but has worked closely with its development, the bicycle unit consists of five officers that patrol West Campus and UT campus full-time. Brewster said the intent of the bike unit was to make students feel safer on and around UT campus.

Kathleen Lee, a third-year psychology major at UT who lives on West Campus, said she felt safer with the new bike unit around.

“Before, I would only occasionally see police cars parked but without any police in them,” Lee said. “It’s reassuring to actually see the officers now. I see a group of them on bikes at least a few times a week.”

Lee said that while she has never personally had to contact the UTPD, knowing that the officers were taking more active measures to be visible at UT was comforting to her.

“The difference between the way I felt walking West Campus at night last year versus this year is pretty great,” Lee said.

Not all students have responded to the new bike squad in the same way, however. Walker Smith, a second-year student who also lives on West Campus, questioned the usefulness of the UTPD bicycle squad.

“It’s like ‘21 Jumpstreet’ or something,” Smith said about the officers on bikes. “I’ve seen them ride by a few times, but I’ve never seen them actually do something.”

While there undoubtedly are other students who, similar to Smith, find the bike unit comical or a bit ridiculous, Brewster says the squad’s primary aim is to make the students feel safe.

While the bicycle squad’s primary aim is to make students feel safer, more people are affected by crime on West Campus than UT students alone. The new squad also covers a number of local shops on Guadalupe Street and the surrounding area.

Rachel Terreson, an employee at Tyler’s, a clothing shop on Guadalupe Street, said that she felt safer working at Tyler’s with the new bike squad. According to Terreson, the shop had contacted the UT police department before about an emergency, specifically in reference to a suspicious person.

“Sometimes homeless people will sit at our door or come inside and refuse to leave, so we’ve had to call the police,” Terreson said. “But we haven’t had any real crime.”

Terreson said it took the police at least 15 minutes to arrive at Tyler’s after the employees called them.

A full-time unit of officers on bicycles could potentially cut down that time, said Jose Peña, the head sergeant of the bike unit. He says the UTPD’s intent in rolling out the new bike program is to reduce the amount of time it takes to arrive at a scene in circumstances similar to this.

In a maze of one-way streets and traffic depending on the time of day, it comes as no surprise that it could be a number of minutes for a police car to arrive at the scene of a crime on West Campus.

“Our squad is full-time,” he said. “We can arrive on scene in less than five minutes now.”

Peña said the bicycles improved police transportation around campus. “We can get from place to place more easily than before,” he said. Traveling primarily by bike allowed his squad access to roads and places, particularly on campus, that they had limited access to in cars.

Peña further said the bike unit aimed to make students feel safer on a public campus.

“We aim to make students feel more comfortable,” Peña said. “Even if the visual alone of officers around campus and residential areas makes them feel safer, we’re moving in the right direction.”

The bike unit can be found on West Campus and the surrounding area seven days a week during all hours.