The detachment has been considering starting a foot patrol in town for some time, and council has asked Staff Sgt. Leon McAllister whether a foot patrol could be implemented.

Constable Paul Joy said the detachment decided bikes were the best way to go, as a way to allow better communication and interaction between the public and the police. And because of its go-anywhere abilities, the cops can now visit kids in areas the trucks can't go, and resolve situations where mobility matters.

"Foot patrols are perfect for a city, but this isn't a city," said Joy, one of two officers who recently completed an officer bike course in Calgary. "We sometimes need to have speed, to get back to the detachment in a hurry if we have to."

In fact, Joy said bikes can be faster than trucks. Joy said in one case when arresting an intoxicated person, the truck he radioed from his bike to pick up the person actually arrived at the station behind the bike, because of traffic delays.

Joy said the police are making about six charges a week on the bikes, mostly for alcohol offences, since the program began a few weeks ago.

But the bikes aren't about law enforcement. "We're not out trying to break arrest records from previous years," said Joy.

The bikes are all about interacting with the community, and studies show police talk to 20 times as many people than they would from a squad vehicle, said Joy.

"We find that the more visible we are, the more approachable we are to locals and tourists." Joy said he'd talked to dozens of tourists and local people on his bike since the program began, and elders have told the detachment that they approve of the increased exposure of police on the streets, parks and playgrounds.

Joy said bikes are also useful in meeting and getting to know kids, whose main transportation in summer is also the bicycle. "Kids go to places that we couldn't get to before," said Joy. "We're getting to know them better, and they're getting to know us better, too."

Inuvik is the "perfect size for a bike patrol. You can get anywhere in five minutes, whereas the guys in the truck can get caught up in traffic." It also makes policing easier, although you're exposed. "It increases your vulnerability by 100 per cent. You constantly have to pay attention to what you're doing. You can see, smell and hear more than when you're in a police vehicle."

Joy said the public perception of officers on bikes is different, even "a little odd. People let their guard down, when they see a police officer show up on a bike."