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Bike patrollers are one spoke in the wheel of public safety

June, 2010

For a 26th consecutive year, the Sun Youth bike patrol will make streets, parks, playgrounds and bike paths safer by acting as the eyes and the ears of the Montreal Police Service.

Bike-patrol activities start with the official swearing-in ceremony on June 9. Until Aug. 13, 34 patrollers will work in collaboration with 12 SPVM Neighbourhood Police Stations across Montreal Island.

At the helm of the Sun Youth Bike Patrol are Maria-José Raposo, assistant director of crime prevention and bike-patrol co-ordinator, and Niva Beaudoin, the patrol’s assistant co-ordinator.

They are responsible for hiring the many young people who make up the patrol.

Six are Teens on Patrol, a special unit of 14-to-17-year-olds who work in tandem with senior patrollers. Most of the patrollers are students from such educational backgrounds as police tech, criminology and social work. Their desire to work for the improvement of the community is what unites them.

Maria-José Raposo and Niva Beaudoin co-ordinate the bike patrol. Photo: Nicolas Carpentier

Patrollers learn CPR, bike safety techniques and take part in a role-playing activity organized by the police on intervention techniques. Patrollers are equipped with first-aid kits and walkie-talkies to relay information to headquarters and police. Activities scheduled throughout the summer include bicycle safety workshops for children, chiselling operations, sports tournaments (soccer, flag football) with day camps, visits to senior residences and other neighbourhood events.

The Sun Youth Bike Patrol will be present at city sidewalk sales and will conduct a census on cycling offences. The patrol will also work in collaboration with the CN Police, who aim to raise awareness of dangers associated with trespassing on train tracks.

This year, the patrol welcomes two police cadets from Kuujjuak in northern Quebec. Their goal is to get experience working with Montreal police and to create a link between the two communities.

According to Raposo and Beaudoin, the 34 patrollers of the 2010 edition of the Sun Youth Bike Patrol are “very dynamic and extremely motivated.”

These young people are eager to start working for the well being of our community. We wish them the best this summer.

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