DEPUTIES ON BICYCLES SURPRISE SUSPECTS OFF THE BEATEN PATH; PATROLS KICK WHEELS OF JUSTICE INTO GEAR.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

Hoping to curtail crime in parks and on trails and paseos, deputies from the Santa Clarita sheriff's station are riding out again in bicycle patrols throughout the city.

With a grant from the state Bureau of Justice Assistance, the bicycle-patrol program effectively fights crime in areas of Santa Clarita that aren't easily accessible by squad car, Deputy Joe Dombrowski said.

``It's been extremely successful. We have made over 60 arrests in the last month, including about a half-dozen felony cases,'' Dombrowski said.

Riding on the bike team are 18 deputies assigned to the station's detective bureau, patrol division and unit that concentrates on career criminals.

The deputies ride in squads of six, each led by a sergeant. Dombrowski said bike patrols, first used in Santa Clarita three years ago, were started again in June without any notice. He said gang members had been curious about when the deputies would hit the trails on bikes.

``We didn't want to tip our hand. Some of the arrests we've made are for possession of LSD, cocaine and methamphetemines,'' Dombrowski said.

He said the bike patrols are out several nights a week to help maintain the community's ranking as the fourth safest city in the nation in its population range.

Dombrowski said the state grant helps finance the bike patrols and efforts such as truancy enforcement and additional efforts to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors.

The new bike program is bigger and already has a higher success rate than the one three years ago, Dombrowski said.

``This is the largest and most active team assembled,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color) Deputies Alan Young, left, Joe Dombrowski and Scott Miller normally patrol on bicycles, which are fast and silent crime-fighting tools.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News