Mid-North Coast police officers have completed an annual accreditation course in Port Macquarie on July 25

Twenty-two officers from three NSW Police districts took part in the course around Port Macquarie on Thursday, July 25.

Officers must demonstrate their ability to cycle up and down stairs, performing policing duties and manoeuvre effectively through traffic or slowly around pedestrians.

They were also put through their paces in an off-road trial at Jolly Nose Mountain Bike Park in Bonny Hills and completed a 25km trial.

Sergeant Jonathan Richardson, who took part in the course on the day said the accreditation is a welcome refresher before the real patrols over the summer holidays.

"We're ensuring that our bike skills are at a standard to ride in public and that we can do slow speed skills, off road work, urban work in an effective manner," said Sgt Richardson.

"The bicycle is a very good tool for us in the urban setting because we can ride where cars cannot go.

"We can move around and patrol areas a lot faster than foot patrols.

"We engage with the community a lot more than police in vehicles because we are able to stop and talk to people.

"The bicycle police are often the first on scene."

Bicycle patrols are generally held from December to the end of January with occasional patrols in the September and April holidays.

"We want to be ready for the summer time when we have our peak holiday period and generally the majority of our bike shifts," said Sgt Richardson.

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