Saranac Lake Police Pioneer E-Bike Patrols

Saranac Lake Police are rolling out a fresh approach to patrolling, bringing officers closer to the community. Soon, they’ll trade patrol cars for e-bikes patrols, navigating places previously out of reach by vehicle.

Chief Darin Perrotte highlighted the uniqueness of the Saranac Lake community, noting, “Saranac Lake is an outdoor community well known for its hiking, biking, paddling and other activities.”

He believes the new e-bike initiative will bridge the gap between officers and residents. “With an officer on a bicycle, a citizen may be able to simply stop them and engage in a conversation.”

Why e-bikes and not traditional bikes? Chief Perrotte pointed to swifter response times and added flexibility for officers. These e-bikes will also let officers venture off main roads, like the Adirondack Rail Trail.

On social media, Perrotte shared the following message:

We finally have our new e-bikes. This has been a goal of mine since becoming Chief. Officers out on bike patrol engaging with the community and building upon our strategic community policing plan. Saranac Lake is an outdoor activities community featuring Hiking, Biking, Paddling, and more. We’re happy to be able to add this method of patrol and community engagement.

To make things even better we were able to shop local and purchase the bikes from Human Power Planet Bike Shop right in Saranac Lake. The bikes and other equipment were 100% grant funded. Shopping local, clean energy, community engagement, grant funded…..an all around win!

Saranac Lake is leading the way, becoming the region’s first department to introduce e-bike patrols.

Photo courtesy of the Saranac Lake Police Dpartment.