By: Alvin Wilson 
Staff Writer

In case you haven’t noticed, bikes are everywhere on campus. In front of almost every building, you can find dozens of bicycles awaiting their owner’s return.

But, for many Western students, the bikes aren’t always there when they get back.

According to data from the Monmouth Police Department (MPD), about 31 percent of bike thefts that they have responded to this year happened at Western, with even more occurring in the neighborhoods surrounding campus.

What is the first thing students do when their bikes are stolen?

“If someone has their bike stolen on campus, then they typically will call us first,” said Rebecca Chiles, director of Campus Public Safety.

But Campus Public Safety responds only to thefts that take place on campus.

“It has to have happened on campus for us to be involved at all, even if it’s a student who lives off campus,” Chiles said.

Students who report a bike theft on campus can have the MPD make an official report as well.

“We ask everyone who reports a crime if they want the MPD involved,” Chiles said. “Generally, people want an actual police report on it.”

Bike theft is a common occurrence on college campuses everywhere. According to the MPD, the average value of a stolen bike in Monmouth is $682. Bike thefts have cost the citizens of Monmouth more than $26,000 so far this year.

But there are simple ways to help reduce your risk of becoming a victim.

Buy a good lock

“Typically what we see is students parking their bikes and using a cable lock,” Chiles said. “Those are really easy to defeat.”

Cable locks are one of the most popular style of bike locks used. Unfortunately, they are also one of the easiest to cut with a pair of bolt cutters.

U-locks may be more expensive, but the added cost is definitely worth not having to buy a new bike.

“We suggest using a u-shaped lock made of hardened steel” Chiles said. “Really, you need to have a four-foot set of bolt cutters to cut those. You can defeat them, but typically people don’t carry that around.”

Lock your bike correctly

Christopher Lynch, Community Service Officer for the Monmouth Police Department, said, “One thing I’ve noticed around campus is that some people don’t lock their bikes to an object. They only lock the tire to the frame.”

Locking your bike up properly can make it extremely difficult for a thief to succeed in taking your bike.

“Using a u-lock in combination with a cable lock, or two u-locks to lock the tires and the frame is going to protect your bike the best,” Lynch said. “You need to lock both tires and the bike to a solid object if you really want it secure.”

Register your bike with CPS and MPD

“The best thing you can do is register your bike with the campus,” Officer Lynch said. “In addition to that, you can come to the police department to fill out our bicycle registration form.”

Students can register their bikes with both Campus Public Safety and the MPD. This helps both agencies find your stolen bicycle more easily and efficiently.

“You bring the bike here, we take a picture of it, get the serial number, and fix our own number on the bike,” Chiles said of the campus bicycle registration process. “It doesn’t keep it from being stolen, but it helps us track it.”

In addition to these risk-reducing tips, students should also be prepared to report any bike thefts they see or experience.

“If people don’t report them stolen, then there’s nothing for us to go on,” Lynch said. “If we don’t get the reports, it just makes our job that much harder because we can’t catch the people doing it.”

The next time you lock your bike up on campus, keep these tips in mind and remember: your bike is worth more than that $20 lock.