BY ALLISON OPSON CLEMENT NEWS EDITOR
A spike in reported bicycle theft has prompted Campus Public Safety (CPS) to warn students to secure bikes properly and register them in case they are stolen and
recovered.
“It’s starting out big,” said Allen Risen, interim director of CPS. There has been seven bike thefts reported on campus to the Office of Public Safety this year: one in September, six in October.
“That was enough to say I need to notify campus,” said Risen. “Each year we do get a number of bicycles stolen, but the way it was going this year, that’s why I sent out the email.”
Ordinarily, according to Risen, CPS will receive between 10 and 20 reports during an entire school year.
According to the Monmouth Police Department (MPD), during the same period, (Sept. 20 to Nov. 6) seven bikes were stolen in 2013, and nine this year, a small increase. Sgt. Kim Dorn said that some fluctuation is natural. Some of those may overlap with those reported to CPS for Western’s community.
“Some of them are just taken as a joyride and we’ll pick them up,” said Risen. “It’s amazing how many people don’t call us to say it’s missing.”
CPS recovers more bikes every year than are reported stolen. Officers take possession of any abandoned bikes and log them in as found property.
They also compare the bike to an updated list of stolen bikes, a three or four page list kept in official vehicles, to see if it has been reported yet.
“We try to get as much information as possible from thevictim,” said Dorn for the MPD, adding that owners should always file a report, so that their bike can be returned if found.
“It’s so very, very important to know the serial number.” A serial number can be entered by the MPD into a national computer system for stolen items.
If the bike is listed as found anywhere else, it can still be returned to its owner. Chances of recovery go up if the bike is reported as stolen, said Risen, and also if it is registered.
CPS currently has fifteen bikes from this year and last. During the summer, the Housing Office may report abandoned bikes left on campus to CPS, whocan take possession of them if theowner does not claim them.
