Johnston Police Chief Richard Tamburini tries out the department’s new scooter, which was donated by Anthony L. Ferranti Jr., an owner of ACI Customs.

The Providence Journal / Bill Murphy

JOHNSTON — The town’s police officers are about to increase their presence on walking paths, trails, parking lots and other off-road locations where there have been some problems from time to time.

And the Police Department has new wheels for the job: a scooter and two all-terrain vehicles.

The scooter patrol is expected to hit local parks this week, and the all-terrain vehicles will be in use within weeks, Deputy Chief Gary W. Maddocks Jr. said yesterday.

“This is at no cost to the taxpayer,” he said.

The scooter, worth $2,599, was a donation from Anthony L. Ferranti Jr., an owner of ACI Customs, a motorcycle shop on Killingly Street.

The ATVs were purchased with a $17,100 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Maddocks said.

The department took delivery of the equipment last week. Maddocks and Chief Richard S. Tamburini have some specific ideas about how they will use the department’s new off-road capabilities.

For one thing, Tamburini hopes to use the scooter to put a focus on pedestrian safety.

He envisions a scooter-mounted police officer sweeping isolated sections of Memorial Park, the bike path and even area parking lots and plazas.

The scooter is a United Motors Matrix II, which can reach speeds of 65 miles per hour, the police said.

“That is going to give us the capability to get into areas we’ve never been before,” Tamburini said.

Like the department’s two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, acquired in February, the scooter can be an aid for recruiting and public relations, Tamburini said.

The two ATVs are Polaris machines.

Maddocks said he believes that Johnston may be the first local police department in the state to own such vehicles.

The force will train six police officers, taking a lead from the state Department of Environmental Management, he said. DEM operates six Honda ATVs.

The off-road ATV patrols will perform a homeland security function by patrolling the power plant facility run by Florida Light and Power as well as parts of the landfill, Maddocks said.

The police will also use the machines to patrol underneath power lines and to apprehend people operating their own ATVs in violation of a new town ordinance, Maddocks said.

The ATVs will also make it easier to search certain areas for a missing person, he said.

Mayor Joseph M. Polisena tried on a helmet and grabbed the wheel of the scooter at a promotional event where it was introduced last week.

“They can run,” he said, referring to criminals, “but they can’t hide now.”

mreynold@projo.com