luckie
06-19-2006, 01:43 PM
TIME TRAVELERS: In Victorian Ocean Grove, cops' futuristic two-wheel transports are the talk of a button-down town
June 17, 2006
BY TOM FEENEY
Star-Ledger Staff
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-7/115051959830370.xml&coll=1
The newest police vehicle to patrol Ocean Grove is a two-wheeled, electric-powered, space-age marvel that seems incapable of more than a block of uninterrupted travel.
Just watch:
It's a quiet late spring Sunday evening.
Two police officers make good time as they patrol the boardwalk. But when they reach a pavilion, they must stop because a guy on a bike wants to ask what they're rid ing. (Answer: A Segway HT, the HT being short for "human transporter.")
The officers glide away from the pavilion but travel only about 50 yards before stopping to talk with a guy on a motorcycle who wants to know how fast they can go. (Answer: The Segways max out at about 12.5 mph.)
And once they slip away again, they cover only another 100 yards before encountering a woman who wants to know if they are difficult to operate. (Answer: If you can stand up on the thing, you probably can drive it.)
This is how all patrols have gone in the month or so since the Neptune Township Police Department took delivery of the two $6,000 Segway HTs and became the first municipal police department in New Jersey to use them, according to the the company's Web site.
The machines are built to cover 24 miles on a single charge, but the curious public won't stand for it.
"If we go a block at one time without stopping, that's a good run," said Patrolman Mike McGhee. "I can't tell you how many times a night someone asks us how fast they go or how much they cost."
The machines have no throttles or brakes. If an officer wants to go forward, he simply leans forward. The farther he leans, the faster he goes. If he wants to back up, he leans back. And if he wants to stop, he stands up straight. The machines are self-balancing, so it takes only a minute of instruction to learn how to stay up on one when it's not moving.
The special police and security model has emergency lights and an ear-piercing siren. It also has a special bumper around the handlebars to protect the machine should an officer have to jump off. Once on the ground for five seconds, it shuts off and can be restarted only by the officer.
Ocean Grove, a section of Neptune Township founded 137 years ago as a Methodist camp meeting, is a Victorian town where modern conveyances long have been treated skeptically, at least on the Sabbath. President Ulysses S. Grant once was forced to tether his horse and carriage outside the town's front gate when he visited his sister on a Sunday. Cars and trucks were barred from town on Sundays until only about 25 years ago.
It is a town of well-preserved architecture anchored by a 7,000-seat auditorium where Enrico Caruso once sang. It is a town where members of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association spend summers in canvas tents on wooden platforms. This town that time forgot will be patrolled seven nights a week this summer by police officers on gizmos fit for the Jetsons.
The Segway was introduced with much fanfare five years ago. Though it has never become a fix ture in American cities, it is popular in police circles. More than 100 police departments use them, the company says.
The idea to bring them to Ocean Grove started with Neptune Police Chief Howard O'Neil. He read about their use by police departments and was intrigued by the advantages they had over bicycle or foot patrols.
When Segway held a demonstration in February at a Philadelphia hotel, O'Neil sent two officers, Capt. William Bailey and Lt. Dave McEwan.
"We were pretty skeptical, to be honest," Bailey said. "But when we tried them out we thought, 'This might work pretty well.'"
McEwan said they were impressed by how easy they were to drive and how quiet and maneuverable they were.
The Department of Homeland Security has given its imprimatur to the Segway, allowing police departments to spend grant money on them. Neptune paid for its two with other federal funding -- a share of forfeiture money it earned on a drug investigation a few years ago, Bailey said.
The Segways make officers patrolling in a crowd more visible than on bike or foot, Bailey said. They stand more than 8 inches off the ground, so the officer is a full head above everyone else.
The most important advantage, though, is the need to keep stopping. The strong public interest brings the police officers closer to people.
"We don't mind answering those questions," said Patrolman Anthony Gualario, who was patrolling the boardwalk with McGhee on that Sunday night. "We want people to come talk to us. That's what community policing is all about."
At this time of year, policing Ocean Grove is about enforcing rules not everybody is happy to see enforced: no bikes or dogs on the boardwalk. When there are no crowds, people don't always see the advantage to keeping bikes and dogs away, and they can become churlish when confronted.
But on this night, when McGhee glided up alongside a man with a chocolate Lab and shooed him from the boardwalk, the man gathered the dog's leash, studied the contraption McGhee was riding and, rather than complaining, said, "Hey. How fast does that thing go?"
Tom Feeney may be reached at (732) 761-8436 or tfeeney@starled ger.com.
June 17, 2006
BY TOM FEENEY
Star-Ledger Staff
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-7/115051959830370.xml&coll=1
The newest police vehicle to patrol Ocean Grove is a two-wheeled, electric-powered, space-age marvel that seems incapable of more than a block of uninterrupted travel.
Just watch:
It's a quiet late spring Sunday evening.
Two police officers make good time as they patrol the boardwalk. But when they reach a pavilion, they must stop because a guy on a bike wants to ask what they're rid ing. (Answer: A Segway HT, the HT being short for "human transporter.")
The officers glide away from the pavilion but travel only about 50 yards before stopping to talk with a guy on a motorcycle who wants to know how fast they can go. (Answer: The Segways max out at about 12.5 mph.)
And once they slip away again, they cover only another 100 yards before encountering a woman who wants to know if they are difficult to operate. (Answer: If you can stand up on the thing, you probably can drive it.)
This is how all patrols have gone in the month or so since the Neptune Township Police Department took delivery of the two $6,000 Segway HTs and became the first municipal police department in New Jersey to use them, according to the the company's Web site.
The machines are built to cover 24 miles on a single charge, but the curious public won't stand for it.
"If we go a block at one time without stopping, that's a good run," said Patrolman Mike McGhee. "I can't tell you how many times a night someone asks us how fast they go or how much they cost."
The machines have no throttles or brakes. If an officer wants to go forward, he simply leans forward. The farther he leans, the faster he goes. If he wants to back up, he leans back. And if he wants to stop, he stands up straight. The machines are self-balancing, so it takes only a minute of instruction to learn how to stay up on one when it's not moving.
The special police and security model has emergency lights and an ear-piercing siren. It also has a special bumper around the handlebars to protect the machine should an officer have to jump off. Once on the ground for five seconds, it shuts off and can be restarted only by the officer.
Ocean Grove, a section of Neptune Township founded 137 years ago as a Methodist camp meeting, is a Victorian town where modern conveyances long have been treated skeptically, at least on the Sabbath. President Ulysses S. Grant once was forced to tether his horse and carriage outside the town's front gate when he visited his sister on a Sunday. Cars and trucks were barred from town on Sundays until only about 25 years ago.
It is a town of well-preserved architecture anchored by a 7,000-seat auditorium where Enrico Caruso once sang. It is a town where members of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association spend summers in canvas tents on wooden platforms. This town that time forgot will be patrolled seven nights a week this summer by police officers on gizmos fit for the Jetsons.
The Segway was introduced with much fanfare five years ago. Though it has never become a fix ture in American cities, it is popular in police circles. More than 100 police departments use them, the company says.
The idea to bring them to Ocean Grove started with Neptune Police Chief Howard O'Neil. He read about their use by police departments and was intrigued by the advantages they had over bicycle or foot patrols.
When Segway held a demonstration in February at a Philadelphia hotel, O'Neil sent two officers, Capt. William Bailey and Lt. Dave McEwan.
"We were pretty skeptical, to be honest," Bailey said. "But when we tried them out we thought, 'This might work pretty well.'"
McEwan said they were impressed by how easy they were to drive and how quiet and maneuverable they were.
The Department of Homeland Security has given its imprimatur to the Segway, allowing police departments to spend grant money on them. Neptune paid for its two with other federal funding -- a share of forfeiture money it earned on a drug investigation a few years ago, Bailey said.
The Segways make officers patrolling in a crowd more visible than on bike or foot, Bailey said. They stand more than 8 inches off the ground, so the officer is a full head above everyone else.
The most important advantage, though, is the need to keep stopping. The strong public interest brings the police officers closer to people.
"We don't mind answering those questions," said Patrolman Anthony Gualario, who was patrolling the boardwalk with McGhee on that Sunday night. "We want people to come talk to us. That's what community policing is all about."
At this time of year, policing Ocean Grove is about enforcing rules not everybody is happy to see enforced: no bikes or dogs on the boardwalk. When there are no crowds, people don't always see the advantage to keeping bikes and dogs away, and they can become churlish when confronted.
But on this night, when McGhee glided up alongside a man with a chocolate Lab and shooed him from the boardwalk, the man gathered the dog's leash, studied the contraption McGhee was riding and, rather than complaining, said, "Hey. How fast does that thing go?"
Tom Feeney may be reached at (732) 761-8436 or tfeeney@starled ger.com.