BA Police Increase Bike Patrol As Weather Improves

Police want all of us to be on alert, after a number of overnight car burglaries that happened in East Tulsa. As the weather gets warmer, thieves get more active, so police want us to be more diligent in protecting our stuff.

Some Broken Arrow police officers are finishing their last day of bicycle patrol training. With the weather getting warmer, they'll be more active in the community.

"We use it for community events and we also augment our patrol functions with it," said Sergeant Erik VanHorn with the BAPD.

The 15 bicycle patrol officers will patrol in neighborhoods, parking lots and at city parks, in addition to officers in patrol cars. They'll especially focus on preventing car burglaries.

"We can get out at night. We're in the dark. They don't even realize we're out there and we can really sneak up on these burglars and catch them in the act," VanHorn said.

Broken Arrow police are stressing the importance of people locking their cars or at least hiding their valuables. They say most car burglaries are crimes of opportunity, and tend to increase this time of year.

Corporal Leon Calhoun, with the BAPD said, "Even if it is loose change in some cases, tobacco, things like that. If it's unlocked they're going to try to go through there and if they find that, they're going to start going through your glove compartment, center console, under your seats and they're going to look for others things."

It's a crime that can happen anywhere. Overnight in East Tulsa, thieves targeted more than a dozen cars at several locations. They grabbed everything from GPS units, to checkbooks and car stereos.

"They're looking for easy access for something they can use or sell," Calhoun said.

With training wrapping up, the B.A. bicycle officers will now hit the streets. Another group of officers will be trained later this summer.

No shattered glass was found in the overnight car burglaries, so the cars were likely unlocked. So again, officers stress it is important not to leave valuables in cars, or at the very least, hide them.