A five-day Police Bicycle Patrol Operators Course - typically held in Goulburn - was conducted in Dubbo last week, with a large group of officers on bicycles also observed in Orange earlier this week.

Eighteen officers from Dubbo, Gilgandra, Yeoval, Wellington, Mudgee, Moree, Portland and Lithgow attended last week's course in Dubbo, with additional training opportunities like this welcomed in the area.

"It's fantastic to see the decentralisation of these courses; the amount of shifts and hours it saves our staff from travelling significant distances in past when the course can be held in the region is a significant step forward," Western Region Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna APM said.

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"It's both a great opportunity for our staff to do a different style of policing, and another resource which our commands have.

"The overwhelmingly positive feedback from communities when they see police on bikes in and around CBDs speaks for itself.

"It acts as a significant deterrent to antisocial behaviour and surprisingly they're able to often make arrests by being able to access places often difficult to police."

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