Lincoln police join Segway revolution

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department is looking towards the future, and looking somewhat futuristic in doing so.

Within the next two weeks, University Police will debut their newest tool: Segway Personal Transporters.

Now, these have been visible zipping around malls or Sharper Image stores in the last couple of years, but Segways certainly are becoming more popular, and not just for play.

"(The Segways) are great tools for us," said Officer Jim Davis. "They allow us to maneuver in places where our vehicles will not allow us, and it's also a great way for officers to be seen in large crowds."

Indeed the Segways will allow officers to monitor campus with much more freedom than their cruisers allow. Police have even tested their new rides inside buildings such as the Nebraska Union.

The scooters will primarily be used to patrol in large, crowded areas where bikes or cars cannot maneuver, such as home football games, according to police.

The University Police Department made the decision to purchase four Segways after a day of demonstrations and a little bit of tooling around on the futuristic looking scooters.

With two wheels situated on either side of a foot platform, the Segways are built very soundly and can even negotiate terrain such as grass and loose gravel.

University Police have had the vehicles for about two weeks, and each officer has been training to ride them.

"It takes a few hours to get the feel for it," said Officer Jim Baker. "But after you let (the Segway) do the balancing, it doesn't take too long to get the hang of it."

The Segways are propelled by a transfer of weight in the rider's feet. Weight forward on the toes makes it go forward, weight on the heels makes it go backward and the steering column simply tilts side to side for turns. Also, it puts a person an additional eight or so inches off the ground, which will allow officers to see in crowds and also to be seen, which can be just as important, according to University Police.

"We are much more approachable on them," Davis said. "And we like being able to talk to people and allow ourselves to be more available to people than if we're sitting in a cruiser."

Another reason for the Police Department's purchase is economics. With gas prices still on the rise, police have already encouraged officers to ride bicycles and to turn their engines off in idle times to save fuel. The Segways simply plug into the wall to charge, which means no cost at the pumps.

Segways retail at about $6,000, and police think they will pay for themselves with their effectiveness and efficiency out on the beat.

For now, they are making good conversation pieces for citizens who run into an officer on Segway patrol.

"People have been coming up to us and talking with us," said Officer Richard Butters. "The question we get most is 'can I ride it?'"

evancotten@dailynebraskan.com