Ithaca College Hosts Police Bike School
	Bicycle patrol officers from municipal police departments and campus safety and security offices throughout New York and Canada visited Ithaca College June 1-5 to learn how to better use cycling in law enforcement. Some 60 participants attended the training session for bicycle patrol units. This year's session was the fifth at Ithaca College. Dirk Hightchew, a bicycle patrol officer with the College's Office of Campus Safety and the program's organizer, says it has become more popular as more departments see the value in using bicycles in law enforcement. The five-day session is sanctioned by the International Police Mountain Bike Association, Law Enforcement Bike Association, and New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services-Bureau for Municipal Police. The program included classroom instruction on such topics as crash analysis, vehicle and traffic laws, and nutrition and fitness. Officers took to the streets and parking lots to learn basic cycling techniques as well as obstacle negotiation (curbs, stairs, and hazards); night riding; dismounts, takedowns, and suspect contact tactics; and community oriented policing. They will also do distance riding, firearms familiarization incorporating the bike, and off-road riding on local trails.