Using police bicycle patrols to manage social order in bicycle and pedestrian traffic networks

Abstract

This article examines how bicycle police units perceive their impact on social norms of rule compliance and risk behaviours in bicycle and pedestrian traffic networks. Using qualitative methods, a police bicycle patrol was analysed. Findings indicate that bicycle patrols are promising as an innovative measure to target bicycle and pedestrian traffic enforcement. Police reported that the bicycle patrol allowed increased accessibility and that police presence on bicycles had a positive normative impact on the behaviours of bike riders and pedestrians. The discussion encompasses the way in which bicycle patrol units hold important tacit knowledge of street life that could play a key role in policy making.