Santa Barbara Police Rolling on a Segway While on Patrol

Santa Barbara police officers are not just in their cars, on motorcycles or riding bikes when on patrol. Now they are using Segways.The department is using them for seven weeks as part of a trial. They will be mainly used on State Street, the waterfront, and Milpas.Share your comments about this story with us on the KEY News Facebook page.Officer Brian Kerr says they go faster than he expected. “You can definitely cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time,” said Kerr.The Segways can reach speeds of 12 miles an hour.Brian Wiggins with Segway of Santa Barbara says other beach communities have used the Segway patrols effectively.”You can go to the Newport Beach-Balboa area on the peninsula, there the law enforcement uses Segways to go up and down. It gets very congested in the summer between the first pier and down by the harbor pavilion. So the alleyways are easily navigated by Segway travel,” said Wiggins.”This is a great city for bikes and a great city for Segways. We’re an active city we’ve got a lot going on.”It’s also form of law enforcement that will be head and shoulders above the others. “One of the biggest advantages is the visibility, the high visibility,” said Kerr. “We will be able to tackle some of the nuisance related crimes that you won’t be able to via bike or vehicle.” Officer Kerr is part of a tactical patrol team for the city.KEY News Senior Reporter John Palminteri has our story.