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@Oliver Schick
True, cycle police (and paramedics etc.) have much faster response times than the motor vehicles police use. There are a lot of vehicle restricted areas in London through which motorcycle police can't pass, let alone police in tin boxes.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/4385.aspx
"The cycle response unit is able to reach anywhere within its area of operation within minutes, regardless of traffic conditions."
They use mountain bikes because police started using them in the US, where they first re-invigorated the idea of police on pedal cycles. Initial training was done by the International Police Mountain Bike Association, rather predetermining the eventual choice of bikes. :)
There are also some really interesting stats on paramedic response times on the above page. They were published in 2004 but the situation won't have changed much.