Sudbury police set to patrol neighbourhoods on bicycles

Sudbury police are getting ready to start patrolling parts of the city overnight on bicycles.

It's part of the Night Bike Patrol, where officers keep a closer eye on areas of the city between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.

Staff Sergeant Valerie Tiplady says the chosen neighbourhoods are based on reported crime levels.

"We have trained crime analysts and they track reported incidents and then they enter that information into a database," she said.

"They're able to look at the reported incidents and determine if there's any emerging crime patterns. That information is relayed to all officers."

During the four-day blitz last year, police say several arrests were made. In one case, police were able to track down a man seen checking vehicles. Officers caught up with him and found he had 13 outstanding arrest warrants for close to 30 offences, including theft from a motor vehicle.

Tiplady says while an increased police presence helps, citizens can take steps to protect their vehicles including locking the doors.

"Also consider motion lights," she said."We really want individuals to keep all of their valuables out of sight."

She adds if you are a victim to theft of something in your vehicle, it's a good idea to report it to police.

"Theft from motor vehicles take place throughout the city," she said.

"But if we're looking at any emerging trends or if we're determining where we're going to be conducting our patrols we do seek that information from our crime analyst to see if there is a certain area at that time where there is an increase."

She says you can report those crimes on the Sudbury police website, adding if you see a crime in progress to call police and report it immediately.