There’s more than one way to catch a crook

WASILLA — Though the Wasilla Police Department is the only Valley agency patrolling on motorcycles, that doesn’t mean other officers spend all their time in patrol cars.

Though a plan to start up a motorcycle patrol in Palmer fell through last year, the Palmer Police Department continues to patrol on bicycles, during the summer, when staffing allows.

“It’s a great public relations tool,” said Palmer’s director of public safety Jon Owen. “It’s just an opportunity to have a closer interface with the public.”

A former bicycle cop himself — he spent two years pedaling around Dallas — Owen said the patrols can have other benefits as well.

“When I was there it was a great tool for sneaking up on people that were about to steal,” he said.

Asked if bicycle cops have to carry any special equipment, he said, “just a ticket book.”

The Alaska State Troopers phased out its motorcycles years ago. But they continue to patrol on snowmachines, ATVs and boats as well as in helicopters and airplanes and just about any conveyance they can use to be more effective.

Planes are mostly for Bush troopers. Helicopters are stationed in Anchorage.

“Here in Southcentral what you see seasonally is the ATV patrols and then the snowmachine patrols in the winter,” trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

Wildlife troopers and even some patrol officers in the Valley regularly break out the ATVs and snowmachines, to enforce fishing and hunting regulations but also to tamp down on folks who choose to break the law or get into themselves into trouble off the beaten path.