UW-Madison police try a new deterrent for bicycle thefts
April Nett is a college student turned part-time detective.
Her investigative, take-matters-into-your-own-hands attitude is a recent transformation sparked by what hundreds of college students and city residents experience every year in Madison. Her bike was stolen from outside her University Avenue apartment, and she felt if she didn't do something, nobody else would.
After watching the apartment building's surveillance tape of two guys breaking her bike lock, then walking off with her bike, she attempted to file a report with the Madison Police Department. Without knowing the serial number for her bike, however, she knew there wasn't much hope. Undeterred, she made the rounds through the local bicycle shops, describing her Cannondale fixed-gear bike to anyone who would listen. In a matter of days, she received a call. A bike similar to hers was for sale on Craigslist, the popular online classified advertising site. After arranging a meeting with the person who was selling it, she thought she had enough new information to get the police involved.
"Legally, the police told me they couldn't do anything, which is why I told them what I was planning on doing," Nett said. "They strongly discouraged me from meeting the guy and said they were concerned about my personal safety."
Nett went ahead anyway, meeting a guy whom she described as "a typical biker dude in his early 20s," at the corner of North Pinckney and East Gorham streets.
"It was so like Nancy Drew," said Nett, a 20-year-old incoming junior at UW-Madison.
The bike was identical to hers, except the handlebars, seat and tires had been switched out, as often occurs with bike thefts. She took it for a spin, then peppered the guy with questions. How long had he had it? Why did he want to sell it? Where did he get it? Did he build it himself?
"He didn't know anything about the bike, which was totally sketch," Nett said. "The most irritating thing about it was that he didn't do or say anything to vindicate himself when I told him it was my bike, and it was stolen."
But he didn't give it back either.
A new program based on the reality that bike thieves are rarely caught and stolen bikes seldom recovered is meant to help people like Nett -- at least those who park their bikes on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Campus police have quietly been testing the new "Bait Bike" program since May. The program works by luring thieves with GPS-equipped bikes. When the bike moves, so do police.
The test phase started small. A GPS device was attached to one bike. Before long, someone took the bait. Then another and another.
Learning of the program's success, Budget Bicycle Center donated more bikes.
"Bike theft on this campus has always been here," said Sgt. Jason Whitney of the UW-Madison Police Department. "It has been a consistent problem and very few bikes are ever recovered, with fewer people ever being arrested. We thought we'd run this program and maybe make a few arrests, but we have arrested a lot of people."
Since May, 18 people have taken the bait. Sixteen were arrested and charged with theft of movable property, a misdemeanor offense with a $200 fine. In the other two cases, the bike snatchers discarded the bikes before the police arrived.
"We were expecting a certain kind of demographic but it has been across the board -- from homeless people to well-established people in the community," Whitney said of those arrested.
The 16 arrests in two months have put the campus police way ahead of their usual arrest rate for bicycle thefts.
During the last school year, one bike-related arrest was made, Whitney said. That number pales in comparison to the 100 bikes reported stolen during the past 18 months, Whitney said.
Chances are not much better that a stolen bike will be recovered, or the thief caught, in the city of Madison. Since 2003, 1,316 bikes have been reported stolen in the city. Because some bike thefts are reported during burglaries, the actual number of bike thefts likely is higher, said Capt. Carl Gloede of the Madison Police Department.
It is unclear how many arrests related to bike thefts are made annually, because the department's computer system does not generate separate statistics on the crime. Roughly 200 bikes are recovered each year by Madison police, one of the measurements city police use to gauge how many residents could be missing their bikes. The city police auction off all unclaimed bikes each October.
For students like Sarah Olson, a UW-Madison graduate student who lives in the Vilas neighborhood, the experience of having a bike stolen is frustrating and depressing. Olson's bike was taken recently after someone broke the Kryptonite lock and took it from the front porch of her home.
"I hold out hope," she said. "Everywhere I go, I am looking for it, although I know it's probably not even in town anymore."
The story is all too familiar to law enforcement.
"You hate to tell people that it is unlikely we are going to be able to do much to help them out. But the fact is, it is very unlikely a bike will be found," Whitney said. "There are so many bikes in the community. To find one and point it out and to say it's yours is hard. Our hope is that this program will change that."
Nett said the Bait Bike program's arrest rate is encouraging, but is missing the bigger problem.
"They aren't actually getting real bikes back," she said.
The point isn't lost on the campus police. But they note the effectiveness this new bait-and-wait tactic has had in other areas, where the program's presence consequently lowers bike thefts. The University of Toronto was the second Canadian university to implement the program in 2006. Bike thefts have since dropped from two or three a week, to one a week. When the program pioneers, Canada's Victoria Police Department, rolled out the program several years ago, thefts dropped by almost 20 percent in six months in that British Columbia city.
"At this point in time, our goal is to deter and stop bike thefts so people can come to campus and know their bikes will be there when they get out of class or leave their offices and need to get back home," Whitney said.
As for Nett, her sleuthing days aren't over yet. Last week, she posted her own ad on Craigslist. On it are two pictures. One is her bike, the second is the bike now in the possession of the man she met on the downtown street corner.
The ad, in part, reads: "Please, please, please be wary about purchasing this bike, as it is a stolen bike and I have a large networking system in place to get it back into my possession. This is a warning to anyone who loves their babies on wheels."
LOCK 'EM
UP!
As gas prices soar and people rely more on their bikes to get around, riders also start to think more about bike security. And for good reason.
"When the bike industry is growing and when there's a lot more people riding bikes, there are more bike thefts," said Jeff Fitzgerald, owner of Revolution Bikes on Atwood Avenue. "It kind of goes in unison."
According to Fitzgerald, Justin Ugoretz at Budget Bicycle Center and Gus Juffer at Williamson Bike & Fitness, the U-lock -- a metal ring in the shape of the letter U -- is still the safest bet, especially if the bike is stored outside.
This season, Fitzgerald decided to carry higher-end U-locks, which cost between $65 and $100.
"I've increased the lock quality and type of U-locks I carry, and in general, they're stronger and more secure locks," he said. In choosing a lock, bike owners need to ask themselves, "What is their bike worth?" Fitzgerald said.
Cable locks are easier to use and cheaper than U-Locks -- prices typically start at $20 -- but Fitzgerald said the sturdier, more expensive U-locks are the most reliable.
Shielded cables, larger size-diameter cables and chains with padlocks also are becoming more popular because they're tougher to break with bolt cutters, the most common device thieves use to sever locks.
While Kryptonite is a well-known manufacturer of U-locks, Juffer recommends the Planet Bike brand that he sells at Williamson Bike & Fitness.
When discussing security with customers, Juffer advocates separate locks for wheels and bike seats, and said if a person is running an errand or locking his or her bike for an hour or two, the cable lock is a good option.
"The cable lock keeps honest people honest, especially during the daytime," Juffer said. But he recommends using a U-lock if parking your bike outside overnight.
Ugoretz said 6-foot cable locks are light and easy to carry. Leaving a bike unlocked and unattended, even for a moment, is something no bike owner should do, he added.
"People should be responsible and never underestimate where they park their bike," Ugoretz said.
-- Tamira
Madsen
