Our View

Situation:

The University Police Department continuously received stolen bike reports, but few are returned to students.

Stance:

UPD cannot fully do their job unless students help. Register your bike so UPD knows who to return recovered bikes to.

The Student Government and the University Police Department had a campaign in 2003 to register bicycles in an attempt to reduce bike theft.

That was five years ago, but registering your bike is still just as easy.

To register a bike, students must fill out a personal information card with UPD, get a serial and model number and put a sticker on the bike. The process only takes about five minutes.

If it’s this simple, then why not do it?

Losing a bike can be expensive, and if you file a police report it can be more difficult to find the bike if isn’t registered.

So far in this semester, at least 15 bicycles were reported stolen. There have been countless others. And the theft doesn’t happen in one area.

In 2002, there were 25 bicycles reported stolen and three recovered on campus according to UPD’s theft report.

The Student Senate used to sponsor bike registration and raffle away prizes. That’s not a bad idea, and it’s something the current Student Senate could easily do.

“If University Police find bikes with stickers, they can return them, but if they don’t meet the identification requirements then they can be impounded,” said former Student Senate member Ryan Herdes. “Police officers don’t have time to deal with making sure every student meets the safety regulations for bicycles when there are parking messes to deal with everyday.”

In 2003, University Police Chief Adam Due said the campaign was helpful and said in 2004, police handed out the registration forms to students on campus.

“Kids don’t go out there to register, so we come here,” Due said.

Of course, one should also use common sense if they plan on riding their bikes and leaving them unattended. They should buy a good, reliable lock and chain.

UPD’s Web site states that the victim can prevent 85 percent of theft on this campus by locking up their items.

Be smart. Lock up and register your bikes. It’s only common sense.