The Ministry of Defence Police currently has eight officers undertaking patrols, sharing five Police Carrerah Subway bikes between them. The bikes cost £395 each and all the officers who use them have been given special training by Cycling Scotland in how to operate and maintain them safely.
Superintendent Kevin Craddock, Senior Police Officer at HM Naval Base Clyde, explained why they have started using the bikes:
"There are a number of reasons I thought these patrols might be of benefit to our policing operation here. Firstly, the foot patrol sectors are quite large areas to cover effectively without transport, and there was also the need for our officers to maintain a close liaison with the community.
"Community policing is sometimes made more difficult by the fact that we are on the gates as an armed police presence and patrolling in vehicles. I thought the most effective way of getting around these problems would be to introduce cycle patrols, based on the concept of a Community Support Officer within the base. You would be surprised at the amount of people who are willing to approach an officer on a bike and it helps forge a better relationship between our force and the public."
"We obtained the services of the same instructors who had trained Strathclyde Police," continued Superintendent Craddock.
"[The bicycle patrols] are already having a marked effect on traffic, which slows down whenever they appear, and, of course, they also have the advantage of being very green."
Superintendent Kevin Craddock
"All our cycle patrol officers are qualified to the appropriate standard for health and safety purposes. We now have two trained officers in each section and most of them are experienced riders in their own right and have been selected because of their cycling interest and their enthusiasm for community policing."
Although it is early days, there is the possibility of extending the patrols to cover the Churchill Estate in Helensburgh along with the Unit Beat Officers. There are also plans to use them to attend visiting ships to introduce themselves to the crews and let them know about local laws and regulations.
"The effectiveness of the patrols is being monitored to make sure they continue to be good value," said Superintendent Craddock. "They are already having a marked effect on traffic, which slows down whenever they appear, and, of course, they also have the advantage of being very green. Hopefully, if this works well at HM Naval Base Clyde, it will be something other stations will take up."
HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane, some 25 miles (40km) north west of Glasgow, is home to the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent and the headquarters of the Royal Navy in Scotland.