The Bella Vista Police Department has trained a handful of officers to use motorbikes on the job.
Capt. Tim Cook said that the department trained four officers during a two-week program with the Benton County Sheriff's office using bikes on loan from the Indian dealership in Rogers.
"They got a lot of bumps and bruises out of it," he said.
It's important to note nobody will be doing this full-time and bike patrols will be a separate duty.
The department has acquired two motorbikes -- a highway patrol bike acquired at no cost through the Department of Defense Law Enforcement Support Office, or LESO program, and a multisurface-oriented bike purchased at a discount from the Indian dealership.
The second bike will strictly be used for trail duties -- including emergency response and post-race sweeps, for instance -- and some limited patrols, Cook explained, and costs were kept fairly low between the two machines.
This has been a possibility the department has considered for several years, particularly to deal with morning traffic, he said.
"It can go places where a car can't," he said.
During morning traffic with U.S. Highway 71 backed up, he said, an officer can more quickly get through stopped traffic on a bike, while a car or truck might need to resort to less safe practices like driving down the median or in the oncoming lane.
This also means an officer can be out and visible during the morning rush, hopefully prompting better behavior among motorists, he said.
"We're not like those huge cities, but we do have traffic problems," Cook said.
The machine is also a good tool for working events, he added, allowing an officer to be available and move around the event space without the kind of disruption a car might cause, while remaining more accessible to those present.
While the department may expand this program down the road, it's important to see if it actually plays out as well as department staff expects it to first, he said.
"We just got this; we want to see how it performs," Cook said.