Segways? Are you kidding me, Segways?

In the history of wasted money and dumb ideas put forth by the Vicksburg Police Department, this has to rank near the top.

Sean P. Murphy is Web editor. He can be reached at smurphy@vicksburgpost.com.

Segways are two-wheeled, upright vehicles made popular by shorts-wearing cops in beach communities and in shopping malls. Officers ride along the boardwalks at break-neck speed keeping the peace. Segways are built for boardwalks, not for a city known historically for its bluffs.

Imagine the city’s officers tooling down Washington Street when they see a man running from the scene of a crime. The robber turns right and shoots up Clay Street with two Segways on his tail. Is it possible to ride a two-wheeled vehicle up a hill? or even down a hill? Why not invest a couple hundred bucks and by some bicycles?

The police department found itself with some money and had to spend it on more gizmos. Nothing new to that.

Remember the radar detection device routinely parked outside of the Vicksburg National Military park alerting drivers to the speed limit and their actual speed? Haven’t seen that one in a while.

How about the mobile command center bought with Federal Justice Department money? It shows up once or twice a year during festivals, but is mostly used to occupy a parking space.

Whenever the department is given money, it seems it must spend it on the latest and greatest gadget. Couldn’t that money have been used to better the police force through more training and recruitment efforts? Will Segways lead to a decrease in the rampant youth crime problem plaguing our city? No. But they are cool to look at.

For a couple thousand more dollars, the city could have bought four-wheel Ranger-type vehicles that would hold more than one person and allow for carrying equipment in the Ranger’s bed. They also travel uphill.

The $7,000 Segways will prove to be a waste of money and end up collecting dust in some warehouse. When the newness wears off, when the first perpetrator stands on top of the bluff at Cherry and Clay watching an officer try to ride up the hill, Segways will join that radar detector in the graveyard of wasted dollars.