Bicycle security requires extra steps

By Brandon Sayers

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

On a cold October day, Jessica Haberstock decided she was too late for class to ride the bus. She went to grab her locked-up bicycle outside Templin Residence Hall, but after a few minutes of searching, she realized it was gone forever.

“There was no evidence,” Haberstock said. “Just no bike.”

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Photo by Mike Gunnoe

Reid Calver, Overland Park sophomore, locks up his bike in the bike racks at Ellsworth Hall.

Haberstock, St. Louis freshman, said she was surprised a thief would target her $300 bicycle because it was more than six years old and locked with a cable lock. In the bicycle’s place was a lesson: Campus bicycle security is not something to be taken lightly.

“I have never really had to use a bike lock before now because I just used my bike around a neighborhood or at camp,” Haberstock said.

Haberstock said she wouldn’t let this theft keep her from biking in the future: She plans to buy a new bicycle next semester. But instead of locking it outside, Haberstock said she planned to keep her new bicycle in her residence hall room overnight where she knows it will be safe.

Bicycle thefts are occurring at a higher rate this semester than last year, according to the campus crime log. There have been 14 thefts this semester, totaling more than $6,000 in losses. There were only nine bicycle thefts and a total of about $4,000 in losses in the most recent full academic year.

Total bicycle security can be difficult without pricey locks, but Capt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office said simple precautions could prevent theft.

Most importantly, campus police suggested students use U-locks to secure their bicycles. Though chain and cable locks are better than nothing, Bailey said these seemed to be more vulnerable to smaller and more common cutting tools. Each year at student orientation, campus police remind students that the value of their bicycle should be a factor when they are deciding what type of lock to purchase.

“We tell them, ‘Don’t spend $1,000 on your bike and $10 on your lock,’” Bailey said. “If I was going to spend the money a decent bike costs today, I would definitely buy a U-lock.”

David Hayward, Overland Park sophomore, said he had been riding his bicycle to get to class and the Ambler Student Recreation Center until it was stolen near the Jayhawker Towers in late September.

On the day he noticed his $500 bicycle was gone, it had been three days since he had last ridden it. Hayward said he was surprised when he walked up to the bicycle rack to find his fairly expensive cable lock cut in half and lying on the ground.

“The bike lock was a twisted and braided Kryptonite lock and I thought they were dependable,” Hayward said.

Bailey suggests students should record information about their bicycles, including the model information, serial number, a physical description and any engravings or features that make the bicycle unique, to help police identify the property if it happens to be stolen. The more information a person can give police when reporting a bicycle theft, he said, the more likely an investigation will recover the property.

“There are certain places we go look first — pawn shops, used sports stores and other places that buy used equipment,” Bailey said. “The serial number is probably the most important thing to have.”

During the course of their investigation, campus police will check local used goods stores and post the information about the stolen property on a national database. Although official statistics are not compiled, Bailey said bicycles were recovered occasionally from local stores. If the police investigation does not turn up the property, police suggest students stay in contact with these stores in case the bicycle shows up in the future.

Hayward said he was disappointed that the police could not do more to help him recover his bicycle because he had written down the serial number to protect against such situations.

“I got really bogged down with school and ended up calling KU police back three weeks later and they said not much had been done with it and I should be the one to contact every single bike shop,” Hayward said.

Hayward said he also wished the police could have provided him with information from security cameras that may have helped him track down his bicycle. The bicycle racks near student housing locations may have security cameras, Bailey said, but the three day period in which Hayward’s property may have been stolen made the footage difficult to use.

“I know the Towers have cameras,” Hayward said. “Yet, they couldn’t look at it and figure out when it was done, or if it was loaded into a truck, or if it was a student.”

One thing students could do to help the biking community at large, Bailey said, is to be alert near the bicycle racks and report any suspicious behavior, such as loitering.

“The thief is going to be hanging around a little bit. They’re going to spend more time than normal at the bike rack,” Bailey said.

It is much more difficult to recover a stolen bicycle if it has been left in one area for an extended period of time, Bailey said, because it may be hard to pinpoint when the property was stolen.

“You should check on your bike if you don’t ride it daily,” Bailey said. “Walk by it and make sure it’s still there every once in a while.”

— Edited by Abby Olcese

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Comments

DizzleFaShizzle (anonymous) says...

It's really frustrating to know that people are just willing to take anything nowadays. I feel like nothing is safe anymore because of so many people taking what isn't theirs. For those looking for new bikes and such, I purchased my beach cruiser for college on 2wheelbikes.com and have been happy ever since. They are very affordable and inexpensive and very reliable. Check them out and I promise you won't regret it.

December 1, 2009 at 12:33 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

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