East Dundee police creating a bike unit to improve community engagement

East Dundee Deputy Police Chief Schenita Stewart has a message for her officers: Let's ride.

Leaning on her successful experiences in other communities, Stewart is heading the East Dundee Police Department's effort to create a bicycle unit to help officers engage better with residents. The village approved the purchase of two bikes in its most recent budget.

"When I got here (in January) I started thinking about it and talked to (Police Chief George Carpenter) about it," Stewart said. "I think it's going to be great for the community."

After four officers said they wanted to participate in the unit, Stewart chose electric bikes - better than a standard bike to deal with the hills in East Dundee - from Palatine-based Samcycle that cost less than $2,500 apiece. Samcycle also works with other area police departments, including Arlington Heights.

It'll be a while, though, before the unit is up and riding. Stewart said the 32-hour training courses are booked indefinitely, but the hope is to have the unit rolling in time for East Dundee's outdoor event season in 2022.

"Right now we think two bikes are sufficient," she said. "That way you can have two officers together and you can have backup automatically."

Stewart said Lincolnwood's police department had a bike unit when she worked there, and residents found it easier to talk with officers on bikes compared to those inside police cruisers. Officers on bikes also can access areas that cruisers can't, such as trails.

By this time next year, Stewart's confident the community will recognize the benefits of a bike unit.

"We want people to have positive interactions with law enforcement, especially at a young age," she said. "Just to be able to work directly with the people either at downtown events or on the bike trail, I think it'll be a major benefit."