The training of the rollercops

IN BLUE UNIFORMS AND ON WHEELS We often see them speeding through the city on motorcycles. Other times, in cars, playing "Fangio" on the road for our safety. Sometimes, simply on foot, walking with a confident stride toward community policing. But times are changing in the land of the blues as well. And today, Brussels police officers have taken to wheels. Roller parade obliges. At 10 o'clock in the morning, three cars with flashing lights are parked in the parking lot of the Van de Putte stadium on Boulevard de l'Abattoir. A police raid, probably... Yet everything seems calm, one of those crisp mornings where you can hear the birds singing. Not a sign of an arrest, not a shout, not a gesture. The only disruption to the morning silence is background music escaping from the complex's sports hall. Inside, while the radio belts out tunes, two women and six men, wearing blue jumpsuits and black helmets, tear up the faded sports floor with their inline skates. Bodies bent forward, arms swinging, eyes fixed on the horizon. They skate in single file behind their two coaches. On their backs, in capital letters, is the word "POLICE". There is no doubt about it. This is where the rollercops of the Brussels police are training. The team that escorts the roller parades in the capital... "In Brussels, the parades are very family-oriented. The level isn't as high as in Paris. But some people, even very young ones, go very fast anyway, and we have to be able to catch up with them," explains Joël De Keyzer, the team coordinator. Technique above all "Come on! Push on your knees... Control your speed... Not too fast!" Fred Bonus, one of the trainers, flits around his apprentices. In an orange t-shirt, on confident blades, a bit of a show-off, Fred is one of those inline skating bad boys who has been roaming the capital since his youth. "Back then, we had a few interesting challenges, like racing against the tram... We were disliked by drivers, pedestrians, and the police!" Today, however, the skater is in charge of the staff at Brusselsrollers. And his duties include training the police officers who will supervise the event. "We started last July with volunteers from the police force," Fred recalls. "80% of these officers had never worn roller skates before! They deserve a lot of credit because it's not easy to wear the uniform and look foolish. Training allows us to review technique. We simulate all the obstacles they will encounter in the roller parade: slaloming between people, jumping over potholes, sudden braking..." Fred adds. Since the summer, the officers have made progress. A second group has also been trained. In total, the police inline team now counts nearly twenty men and women. Skating together Commotion on the track. The technical class is coming to an end. The blue uniforms scatter strategically across the court. And, hockey sticks in hand, they charge toward the goal... Shouts, clatters, laughter, falls. Sabrina, one of the roller-skating officers, ends up flat on her back, gets teased by her colleagues, stands up, and jumps back into the fray. "I volunteered right away for the roller brigade because I like action," she explains. "Plus, during the parades, we have a different kind of contact with the public. People think we're cool. On skates, they see us as if we were one of them." Because policing on skates is, above all, another step toward a police force closer to citizens. By going out to meet the rollerbladers, the officers rubbed shoulders with a rather anti-cop world. The early days were even difficult. Not very stable on their two blades during the first parades, the officers got bumped around. But little by little, through conversations and progress on wheels, the skating community recognized the brigade's legitimacy. Not without pride, Johan, another officer on the team, relates: "We spent several evenings at Halles Saint-Géry after the parades talking with those who were reluctant. And they ended up accepting us. It's this social aspect of roller skating that I really appreciate." Besides the monthly parades, which will become weekly again this summer, the police roller team works on Sundays at Bois de La Cambre during car-free days, and perhaps at the next Zinneke Parade. But the officers stop short of dreaming about a permanent roller brigade like in Paris. First of all, because the capital's roads are not suitable: cobblestones, poorly maintained streets, steep inclines... Secondly, because the Belgian weather would only allow it for a few days a year. But also, essentially, because patrolling requires more than just knowing how to skate and brake. "Here we learn rolling technique," Sabrina explains. "But executing an arrest on roller skates... We'll see about that later. We might consider a patrol on Rue Neuve, but not across all of Brussels." Training is over. Exhausted and smiling broadly, Johan, Joël, Sabrina, and the others leave the track. As the second group arrives, they take off skates, helmets, elbow pads, and knee pads. The apprentice rollerbladers become ordinary police officers again. Back to their everyday mounts. The three blue-and-white cars leave the parking lot. A flashing light pierces the silence. See you Friday at the roller parade. CARNIVAL ROLLER PARADE > 14/03 at 8 p.m., Place Poelaert. @http://www.rouliroula.com. @http://www.belgiumrollers.com Roller skates alongside bicycles Cramped on sidewalks, banned from the roadway, forgotten by road signage, rollerbladers are somewhat the unloved users of urban traffic. Especially since, at present, no legislation exists for this new type of road user. In practice, case law assimilates them to pedestrians, simply because they do not have a vehicle. This is hardly a sensible practice when you consider that roller skaters move at an average speed of 25 km/h, almost 5 times faster than a walker! Several draft bills have already been introduced to try to fill this legal vacuum: mandatory equipment, use of bike lanes, training courses... But none have been adopted yet. The latest proposal was introduced by Karine Lalieux at the end of February. Unlike other proposals that imposed a set status for roller skaters, the socialist MP suggests giving rollerbladers a choice. She wishes to allow them to use bike lanes where they exist, but not obligatorily. Novice skaters could thus stay with pedestrians, while experienced ones could share space with two-wheeled vehicles. It should be noted that this proposal is strictly limited to people over 12 years old; younger ones must continue to use the sidewalk exclusively. This latest proposal has the advantage of being flexible for a discipline that is constantly evolving. Today, nearly 500,000 Belgians practice roller skating regularly or occasionally. And this figure is expected to increase in the future, given the popularity of this alternative and ecological mode of transport. (F.By)