At our request, Decatur Police recently provided stats on bike theft over the past few years and a few items of interest standout.
First, bike theft is up a bit in 2014. We’re only in July and there have already been 15 bikes stolen, which is already approaching the yearly figure over the past 4 years.
- 2013 = 19
- 2012 = 19
- 2011 = 15
- 2010 = 18
That’s reason enough to be a little more vigilant of your two-wheeled transport. But there’s another element to this type of crime that may be of interest to you.
It’s likely that the time you’re most likely thinking about someone making off with your bike is when you’re securing it to a bike rack downtown. But based on the data, that’s not actually when your bike is most likely to disappear. Only one bike secured to a public bike rack has been reported stolen to Decatur Police since the beginning of 2013. Your bike is actually far more likely to be taken while it sits unsecured at your residence. Here’s a breakdown of the 2013/2014 bike theft data courtesy of Decatur Police Sgt. Jennifer Ross. As you can see below, since the start of 2013, 26% of stolen bicycles were secured, while 74% were unsecured.
2014 = 15 (so far)
- From a School = 2 secured and 1 unsecured
- From a public rack = 1 unsecured
- Taken from inside of a home during a residential burglary = 2
- Unsecured and taken from a residential porch/carport/yard/vehicle/apartment hallway = 9
2013 = 19
- From a School = 1 secured and 3 unsecured
- From a public rack = 1 secured
- Taken in a burglary = 4 from open garages or unsecured enclosed porches and 2 from locked bicycle storage unit at condo
- Unsecured and taken from a residential porch/yard/vehicle/apartment hallway = 7
- Secured and taken from a residential porch = 1
What can be done to reduce the likelihood of bike theft? Well, secure them obviously! But there are other items. Sgt. Ross reiterates…
This breakdown shows the majority of bicycles stolen in Decatur in the last year and a half were unsecured and stolen from the owner’s home. One of the key things we can do to prevent the theft of bicycles is secure them. Also, in the event they are lost or stolen, it is important to have recorded the brand, model and serial number of your bicycles so they can be returned to you if located by the police. The serial number is unique to each bicycle and located on the frame, commonly on the underside or near the seat post. City residents can also register their bicycles with the Decatur Police Department. An officer will record the brand, model and serial number of the bicycle, apply a small decal with a numerical identifier and take a photo. This helps us reunite bicycles with their owners. Bicycle registration events are held at various times and locations throughout the year and can also be organized for a neighborhood or group by contacting Sgt. Jennifer Ross at[email protected] or .
Photo courtesy of Cheryl
While this news is unfortunate, the good news is a little vigilance can keep your bike safe. As a minimum, use a U-lock with the ‘Sheldon’ locking technique. http://ow.ly/z8t3Y. Adding a cable-lock to secure your front tire will almost guarantee a potential thief will move on to an easier target.
I wonder how many bike thefts go unreported.
Billions. If your bike isn’t registered, you’re probably never getting it back. However, those registries do work. We got a bike back once, two years later, in not bad shape.
I always thought people mainly filed the report for their insurance claim.
I guess you’d file a claim if you had a major mountain or city bike that you paid high three or for figures for, but I doubt most people file claims for their kids’ bikes unless there were other items stolen.
I’m confused. The bike registries to which I refer don’t have a claims process. You register your bike, usually when you buy it, and pay a tiny annual fee. Many independent bike shops pay the first year or two for you. Then if your bike is stolen, you contact the registry and they enter that info into their database. In our case, two years after our report, Georgia Tech police called to say they had our bike. They had checked with the registry–NBR? National Bike Registry?, something like that. Never had anything to do with insurance. Since the bike was worth around $200 new and the bike shop had paid the registry fee and all the bike needed was minor repair upon return, we felt that the whole thing worked out well for us. The Georgia Tech Police seemed pretty familiar with the concept of bike registries. I guess thieves often just abandon the bikes they steal and then the bikes are found. But usually there’s no identifying info on them so they never make it back to the owner. With bike registration, they do.
My bike was part of the 2010 statistics; it was stolen from a secured parking deck at our condo.
While registering your serial number and locking up your bike at home might be beneficial, this is really a subset of our home burglary problem. By all means, invest in a good lock system. (No cable locks, they’re easily cut; I use an Axa Defender shopping lock with the accompanying chain that plugs in.) However, the police can’t be everywhere at once, so also take general measures to discourage criminals from targeting your house, like installing motion-sensor, timed flood lights around your property. They’re cheap, easily installed, and make a difference. Whether you install a security system is your business, but do get to know your neighbors and show your active presence outside regularly. (Maybe do your own yard work?)
If you have crime concerns, write the city and county commissioners about how they’re responding and also advocate for harder sentences for offenders. Given that so many of these crimes are by teenagers, if their parents aren’t responsible enough to put the fear of God into them, then we, the public, will need to nip this in the bud.
I was the one whose bike was stolen from a public rack, SECURED, with 2 locks this summer on 6/25. I dont appear to be in those stats. Nonetheless, when i do get another bike, and bike to work, i’ll keep it at my desk.