Police are rolling on two wheels in an effort to keep downtown Omaha safe. The Downtown Improvement District's safety committee said Wednesday officers on segways are not only eye catching, they are also helping to catch criminals.

“Downtown is very safe and very inviting, but what we wanted to do is try to increase the perception of a safer downtown,” said Joe Gudenrath, executive director of the Downtown Improvement District.

Last June, the DID donated two segways to the Omaha Police Department.

“The segways have allowed the police department to be highly visible," said Gudenrath. "Citizens and visitors have seen the segways in use downtown, they appreciate having the sight of an officer in a nearby vicinity that is able to assist them if anything happens.”

The DID unanimously approved the donation of funds for two more batteries and chargers at a board meeting Tuesday night that will help police patrol longer and more often.

“The goal of the DID’s donation was to help the police department make downtown Omaha safer,” said Kevin Merritt, chairman of the DID’s Security and Safety Committee.

“These are the types of results we were hoping for and downtown visitors can feel confident that the DID and the Omaha Police Department are working to make downtown more safe and inviting for all.”

Lt. Michael McGee is the lead segway instructor for OPD and says the segways are a great tool. “It allows the officer to get around in a very quick manner without a lot of physical exertion.”

“It's another tool, like bicycles, like horses, like the helicopters, cars, foot patrol, all those things just to be able to allow us to do our job in a variety of ways to protect the citizens."

The segways elevate officers eight inches off the ground. “It allows you to see above a crowd to see what’s going on, look around your surroundings.”

On Wednesday, McGee was teaching Officer Ricky Brown a few tricks. “Probably going off the curb has been the hardest part so far,” said Brown.

Once his training is finished, Officer Brown will soon join others patrolling the downtown on segways. “I’m looking forward to more training. I want to ride this thing every day if I could."

Lt. McGee says the extra batteries and chargers will be a great asset to the officers. “Right now when we run the battery out it has to completely recharge and that does take quite a bit of time. This will allow us to run the battery down, switch them out and then keep on going.”

The police department also utilizes the segways during special events.

During the month of April, third shift officers logged over 60 hours. Over that time period, they responded to 25 radio calls and made or issued 34 arrests and citations.