Increased police bike patrols in Hilton

Increased police bike patrols in Hilton

In an effort to expand upon a successful program piloted last year, the Town of Parma Special Police Department will increase the frequency and number of bicycle based patrols within the Village of Hilton.

Previous patrols focused on the Town Park and enforcing park rules such as helmet requirements in the skate park, alcohol use permits and parking restrictions. In the village, officers will still focus on parking, but also concentrate on quality-of-life issues. Officers can also issue tickets for offenses occurring within the Village of Hilton.

Parma Chief Tod Edenhofer described this cooperative effort between the town and village as a "win-win" for the whole community. Give the predominantly volunteer nature of the special police department, he stated, "This program will increase public safety at no real additional cost to taxpayers. We hope to make our bike patrols more noticeable around the village and especially during festivals and town events." The increased patrols are meant to compliment the existing patrols by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. The advantage is bikes give officers increased mobility at all events, and allows them quicker response for coverage in areas that traditional vehicles cannot access."

"We have already had tremendous response from community members," Officer Randy Mousaw said, "especially by local businesses."

All Town of Parma Special Police officers are registered NYS Peace Officers. They have the same powers of arrest as police officers, when acting on an assigned detail, but are volunteers for the town. The town provides all training and equipment to residents interested in joining. The department has many opportunities beyond just the bike patrol, and is always looking for new members. For information see Town of Parma website (dept. Special Police), e-mail specialpolice@parmany.org or call 392-9461.