Before there were cop cars and surveillance cameras, NYPD patrolmen walked their beat or kept an eye out via bicycle.
“Bicycles a great help,” reads a New York Times headline from 1896. The story goes on to cite their use in catching runaway horses and preventing cyclists from reckless riding. “More bluecoats a-wheel recommended by the head of the force to the police board.”
This group of bike police, from an 1899 NYPL photo, looks ready to ride.
