A proposal that would put some Langley City bylaw enforcement officers back on bicycles to deal with homelessness-related enforcement issues will be considered by council.
A report to Langley City council from Dave Selvage, the manager of bylaw enforcement, recommends allocating $4,500 to purchase two patrol bikes and related equipment to be shared by four Langley bylaw enforcement officers.
The idea has the backing of Chief Administrative Officer Francis Cheung, whose support is mentioned in the report.
The City used to have a bike patrol program operated with the RCMP, the Selvage report notes.
In 2017, there was a bike patrol program aimed at dealing with the homeless problem that used RCMP bikes, but those bikes are no longer available, the report said.
“Bike patrols were conducted once and sometimes twice a week in partnership throughout the City,” the report said.
“Bylaw and Criminal Code violations were enforced with the safety of the homeless and the greater public in mind.”
The bike patrols supported the newly developed Integrated Proactive Homelessness Inspection Team where City bylaw enforcement officers and RCMP worked together.
The bike patrols allowed for greater mobility for the team and the ability to get to get to more isolated places with greater ease, the report said, which “resulted in the ability to be more proactive, reducing calls for service for both the City and the RCMP.”
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Other arguments made by the report in favour of putting bylaw officers back on bicycles include “greater visibility within the community contributing to crime prevention (and) improved public perception when bikes are seen throughout the community.”
The money would come from the City Enterprise Fund, which comes from the revenue-sharing agreement between the Cascades Casino and the municipality.
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