City of Poughkeepsie Police sideline Segways as unit is reassigned

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Dollars and Sense: Police sideline Segways as unit is reassigned

City department has used scooters a half-dozen times

They are used in other cities to stop thieves from breaking into vehicles in parking garages, to control crowds at events and increase police visibility in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

But in the City of Poughkeepsie, a police officer fighting crime aboard a Segway is an extremely rare occurence, even though two electric, self-balancing Segway scooters were purchased with taxpayer money two years ago. Besides being used a half-dozen times, mostly before the winter of 2010, the Segways have done little more than take up space at the police station.

In comparison,

The Town of Lloyd Police Department has used its Segway for community policing since 2008, mostly during community events.

“Really, it’s been a pretty good tool,” said Lt. Wade Sargeant of the Lloyd police.

“There is enough activity in the City of Poughkeepsie that someone should be able to use a Segway,” Johnson said. “I’m sure there were other municipalities that would have loved to have had a Segway.”

Interesting story. But if the Police are not using them why don't they assign them to the parking enforcement group. Maybe they might do thier job if they got out of the car. One time I said to a parking enforcement officer, "Are you going to ticket the car over ther parked in front of the hydrant?" his reply "What hydrant?". He did however go an issue a ticket.

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Call 451-4000 and ask for the Chief's Office. He can answert your questions.

If I had to GUESS, I would say that they are already severly understaffed, and utilize what little manpower they have in cars and on foot, where they are able to participate in the daily foot pursuits without having to "park" a Segway?