Marana officer Jeff Pridgett draws a bead on speeders along Continental Reserve Loop Road. Thanks to a $25,000 Governor's Office of Highway Safety grant, Marana is building up its motorcycle-officer corps.

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The town of Marana is making progress toward having a fleet of five motorcycle officers to catch speeders and respond to emergencies around town.

The Marana Police Department recently received a $25,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to buy a new motorcycle and equipment such as lights, radar and safety gear.

That vehicle should be ready to roll by the end of the week and will give Marana three operational motorcycles, said Lt. Joe Carrasco with the department's patrol operations division.

The town applied for an additional $60,000 grant from the state in April to get two more motorcycles. Word on that grant application won't come back until later this year, said T. VanHook a Marana town official who helped write the grant application.

The goal is to have the five motorcycles by next year, VanHook said. Police officers want to reduce aggressive driving through increased enforcement.

In gathering information to qualify for the grant, the town discovered the number of collisions police went to rose from 837 in 2003 to 974 in 2005, Carrasco said.

Marana police officers also have seen a 300 percent increase in tickets issued for road rage — or aggressive driving — over the past three years.

Carrasco said he'll deploy the motorcycles based on the number of complaints he receives from residents about traffic violations in their community or based on the statistical breakdown of where violations occur throughout the town.

"In Marana we encompass 120 square miles of incorporated area with residential and commercial space," Carrasco said. "We'd like to work proactively with traffic concerns in the area."

With three motorcycles the department could have one to increase enforcement in northeast Marana near Dove Mountain and another to patrol major intersections like Ina and Thornydale roads, and still have an officer to keep an eye on Marana schools.

As new subdivisions and shopping centers emerge throughout the town, the two additional motorcycles could further aid enforcement, Carrasco said.

Motorcycle officers have the advantage of either high or low visibility to motorists, said Sgt. John Teachout a motorcycle officer with the Oro Valley Police Department and instructor at the Pima Regional Motor Academy.

Motorcycle officers can also reach emergencies quickly because of their vehicles' maneuverability, he said. Teachout said he formed the Pima Regional Motor Academy along with the Pima County Sheriff's Department so officers who want to ride motorcycles could gain the necessary experience.

At the academy, motorcycle officers must go through an extensive five-week training course before they're ready to work any patrols, Teachout said. They begin on a closed course and then ride with experienced motorcycle riders in a variety of traffic situations.

They also learn how to stay hydrated and avoid fatigue, which can be difficult during shifts that can last longer than nine hours and in temperatures that soar above 100 degrees.

Right now, Marana has two officers in the final stage of that training, during which they work with active motorcycle officers for a week so they learn what to expect on the job.

Once they finish the training, Marana will have three officers ready to go on patrol with the town's motorcycles.

Teachout said motorcycle officers can also provide an important link between the Police Department and the community. They participate in parades and aren't isolated from the community by the glass and steel of a car.

While doing patrols in a car, Teachout said, he never had people come up and ask him a question.

Not so when he's riding his motorcycle.

"We're very approachable."