A Department of Public Safety officer, riding by the English Office Building, hears a noise and pulls her bike into the bushes next to the building.

She sees a man carrying computer and media equipment out the door and loading it into his van.

As the man continues bringing more and more equipment out of the building, the officer approaches, and begins to question the man.

She writes down the serial numbers on the equipment as he continues to load. The officer was able to write down all the serial numbers, which led to the recovery of $30,000 worth of equipment.

Lt. Steve Hasstedt, Department of Public Safety, said the officer would have never had that opportunity if it hadn’t been for the “stealth approach” of DPS and Ames Police Bike Officers.

“The stealth approach is coming up on people very quietly,” Hasstedt said. “That is one of the major benefits of having bike officers.

“We are able to approach people more discreetly than patrol units.”

Jerry Stewart, interim director of DPS, said bike officers “get out into the community” better than a regular patrol officer.

“Often times, we find that people are more likely to approach a bike officer than a patrol officer,” he said “Bike officers don’t seem to be as intimidating.”

DPS uses six bike officers from April to October. The officers usually are put on bike patrol when DPS has enough car patrol units.

The Ames Police Department has 12 officers at its discretion.

Cpl. Geoff Huff of the Ames Police Department said there are many benefits to using bike officers.

“One of the major things is that bike officers are more approachable,” Huff said. “We are able to come into contact with a lot more people that way. We are also able to get into many situations that patrol units can’t. We use bike units a lot for parks patrol.”

Stewart said the bike patrol officers come in handy during football games.

“We use them primarily for parking lot duty,” Stewart said. “Many times, the officers are writing alcohol violations during the game and looking for anything out of the ordinary.”

Both the Ames Police Department and DPS use mountain bikes for their officers. Ames uses Trek and Rally bikes, while DPS uses the Cannondale M-900.

“The bikes are really pretty normal,” Huff said. “There isn’t much difference between our bikes and mountain bikes that other people ride.”

Both departments require their officers to wear protective gear. All DPS officers are equipped with bulletproof vests, helmets, protective goggles and gloves.

“We just want the officers to be safe,” Huff said. “A lot of people aren’t always looking for bikes, which pose some safety concerns.”

Both departments always are looking to add new people to the bike forces.

“We just choose people that that are interested and approachable and want to have contact with the public,” Huff said. “Obviously, you also need to be in pretty good physical condition.”

Both the Ames Police Department and DPS are specially trained by certified instructors. Once an officer is trained, he or she can train other agencies and organizations looking to develop bike units.

“We actually have trained a small group of riders from Mary Greeley Medical Center,” Stewart said.

“They have trained paramedics on bikes that they used during football games.”