What Happened?
As more citizens opt to bike around their neighborhoods, bicycle theft is on the rise. Local law enforcement agencies are experimenting with new anti-theft strategies to combat bicycle thefts in the community.
San Francisco
Because opting to bike rather than taking a vehicle around the city can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion, it is a priority for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to support the biking community in San Francisco. Cyclists in the city, however, are looking for protection from a rising number of thefts.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has received a $70,000 grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to help not only reduce the incidence of bicycle thefts but also promote a more bike-friendly community. The transit agency plans to install 28 BikeLink electronic lockers in four parking garages, as well as replace old lockers in need of repairs. Each locker is able to house between five and seven bicycles. To use the lockers, bicyclists must pay for a special card that acts like a credit card, SF Examiner reported.
The bicycle locker initiative is part of a larger goal to increase trips taken on bikes throughout the city to 20 percent by 2020. The city also aims to reduce by bike thefts by 50 percent by 2018, SF Examiner reported.
Portland
The Portland Police Department has launched a Bicycle Theft Task Force to help mitigate a growing theft problem in the city. The city decided to create the task force after more than 2,700 bicycle thefts were reported in 2014, costing residents an estimated $2 million annually. Because bicycle thefts have been associated with other criminal activity such as drug use and home burglaries, law enforcement took notice, Portland Tribune reported.
The task force is a partnership between representatives from Bike Portland, Project 529, Bike Index, the city’s Bureau of Transportation and local law enforcement. The partnership was formed in direct response to local bicycle advocates calling on law enforcement to address the theft problem. The task force’s website offers details on the group’s activities, while the Portland Bureau of Transportation established a website with theft prevention advice and other helpful tips for cyclists navigating the city’s 320 miles of bike lanes, Portland Tribune reported.
Annapolis
In 2014, Annapolis documented 83 bicycle thefts categorized as serious crimes. That same year, the Annapolis Police Department launched an online Watch Your Bike program enabling bicyclists to record bike information with local law enforcement so if it was stolen it could be easily returned when found, Patch reported.
This year, the Annapolis Police Department has launched a new bike theft prevention program called PEDAL – which stands for photograph, engrave, document and lock. The program is an expansion of last year’s efforts and calls on cyclists to use their cellphones to take photos of their bicycles and engrave information onto them to make them distinct. Once all the details of the bicycle have been documented, the information can be uploaded on the police website, Patch reported.
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