Bike thefts increase at U-M, EMU; officials urge riders to take extra caution
Bike thefts are up at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, police say.
Jeffrey Smith | AnnArbor.com
The numbers don’t lie: Thefts of bicycles have increased at local universities.
And the key to decreasing the number of stolen bikes might be a more diligent rider.
Both the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University departments of public safety reported an increase in bicycle thefts during the winter semester of the 2012 school year. While the numbers are small, just nine bikes have been stolen at EMU and 28 at U-M since Jan. 1, the rate of increase has been noticed by university law enforcement officials.
EMU Police Chief Bob Heighes said zero bikes were reported stolen in the winter semester in 2009 and 2010, with just one bike reported stolen in 2011. He said department is actively investigating why numbers have increased this year.
“Our Crime Response Unit has been assigned to address the increase in numbers this year,” he said. “I believe a portion of the bikes taken have been left unsecured at different locations across the campus.”
At U-M, the 28 bike larcenies reported in the winter semester of 2012 is up from 16 in 2009, 20 in 2010 and 19 in 2011.
Spokeswoman Diane Brown said many of the thefts from 2012 have something in common — the bikes were either unlocked or had been secured with a cable lock.
She said cable locks are often chopped away with bolt cutters and unsecured bikes, even those left alone for just a few minutes, can be easy pickings for thieves who are out on the prowl.
She encouraged local bikes riders to make the investment into a steel U-lock, which is more difficult for a potential criminal to remove.
“Almost all of the bicycles reported stolen either were locked with a flexible cable lock or left unlocked,” Brown said. “We’ve had just one reported stolen (bike) that had been locked with a U-bolt lock.”
“The cable locks are rather easy for thieves to cut through but U-bolts are much more challenging,” she added.
Stolen bikes are especially hard to keep track of after they’ve been reported stolen, according to Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derrick Jackson.
Unlike cellphones or electronics, bikes don’t usually make it to the local pawn shop market where they can be easily tracked by law enforcement agencies, he said. However, registered bikes can be put into the Michigan Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN), which is the same system used to track stolen cars, Jackson said.
“Anything stolen that has an identification number or a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) can be entered into LEIN,” he said. “But, beyond that (there’s) not really (any way to track them).”
As much as stolen bikes have increased during the winter semester, the spring and summer semesters are traditionally a time when more bicycles are reported stolen than in any other time of the year, Brown said.
Since 2008, an average of 37.25 bikes have been reported stolen during the spring and summer semesters, as compared with 19.4 in the winter semesters and 25.25 in the fall semester, according to statistics provided by Brown.
The best way to fight back against increasing bike thefts will be education, according to Heighes.
He said students and other members of the university community could expect increased programs to educate them on how to protect themselves during the next few semesters.
“We will also address this through educational programs with our Crime Prevention Officer, Candace Dorsey, and Area Police Officers (Andrea Elliot and Joseph Torres), who are assigned to our resident halls,” he said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
FormerMichRes
Tue, May 15, 2012 : 10:27 a.m.
Point well made about a certain few who have made a career out of stealing bikes. They also have no doubt been arrested before and know that they will be back on the street in short order. If one could figure out a way to keep this hardcore 10% or so of criminals off the street, I think you would find a marked decrease in overall criminal activity in the area, including bike thefts. This is not a novel idea, but one that would require quite a mindset shift among Ann Arbor residents. Too establishment, too law and order, etc., I'd guess. Of course, minds can change especially as more residents become victims of the harden-criminals roving around for opportunities.
Lac Court Orilles
Tue, May 15, 2012 : 12:12 a.m.
The majority of bikes are stolen by just a few people who have made it a business. Police probably know who they are and have arrested them before.
GetRealA2
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 11:49 p.m.
Unfortunately, none of us is as trusting as we used to be, and for good reason. The purity of the "seven square miles surrounded by reality" has been compromised. Offset your losses by doing a "midnight requisition" on some of the unsightly rusted hulks that have been taking up space on the "art" bike racks for many months. At $1.75/lb. for scrap metal, you'll come out ahead.
Mr. Me
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 11:37 p.m.
"SFPD's McCloskey estimated that 90 percent of bike thieves are drug addicts. In America's rough streets, there are four forms of currency—cash, sex, drugs, and bicycles. Of those, only one is routinely left outside unattended. " http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/Who-Pinched-My-Ride.html?page=all
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, May 15, 2012 : 1:20 a.m.
Great quote from a great article!
RJA
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 6:21 p.m.
I have to agree with Stephen, and if they are legal, you still have to buy them. So now what will be stolen to sell for drugs?
Ralph
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 5:54 p.m.
Sounds like "Bait Bike " program might help.
Ron Granger
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:52 p.m.
Some of the information in this article is wrong... Most "U-locks" are easy to break with tiny hydraulic jacks. The jacks cost about $20-$40. When shopping for a u-lock, you need to buy a *small* u-lock. The lock should be just large enough for your frame, rear tire and the structure you lock to. The idea is to not leave enough room for the jack. These smaller locks cannot lock to larger structures. The typical u-lock is too large and leaves too much room for the jack.
zanzerbar
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 2:28 p.m.
U locks and a cable for the front wheel.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 2:08 p.m.
@Radioactive: Actually double blind scientific studies of individuals arrested for a felony indicated that 90% of felons had an illegal substance in their blood at the time of their arrest. Interviews indicated that on average each felon who used illegal drugs had committed five crimes before being caught. Those who were not using illegal drugs had on average only committed one crime prior to being caught. If you work through the math, this would indicate that about 98% of all felonies in the U.S. are related to illegal drug users. My father who was a municipal judge used to say that in his experience in his courtroom, 95% of all crimes were at their core related In some way to usage of illegal drugs. Based on my own experience of crime in high school and college I also reached similar conclusions to the above. I had my bicycle stolen in college by a drug user and it sucked, because after that I had to walk everywhere, because I couldn't afford to replace it. I had an advanced calculator my sister had lent to me stolen in high school by a drug user but luckily I found his stash of stolen stuff and not only got the calculator back but 30 other classmates' valuable stuff, too. Lucky for us he hadn't yet fenced his stolen goods.
Wolf's Bane
Tue, May 15, 2012 : 12:05 p.m.
Stephen, you sound like someone of authority, yet your statistical evidence is lacking actual figures. From my personal experiences, my friends and I used to salvage abandoned bikes back in my teenage years left behind by wealthy graduating U of M students. We didn't liberate these bikes because we had drug problems, but because we built "Frankenstein Bikes" and raced them in the Arb. No drugs, just good clean fun and doing our part to recycle. Glad to hear your daddy is (was) a judge, however, it doesn't to support your argument.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 5:34 p.m.
@Robert Granville: Yes, I have noticed that. BTW, great retort (LOL) to @Radioactive above. The "war on drugs" is an abject failure. This current wave of crime, which I believe is connected to and caused by heroin users, is also connected to the war we have been fighting for 11 years in Afghanistan. That country is the source of 90% of the heroin in the world, and that is yet another abject policy failure. The current policies have proven not to work. We need to find some new ones.
Major
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:06 p.m.
True, the most deadliest drug of all, alcohol, is found the majority of the time in felons.
Robert Granville
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:05 p.m.
Are you also aware that countries such as Portugal that have decriminalized all personal drug possession have seen a significant drop in drug use, addiction, drug-related disease rates and petty crime? It seems that the laws applicable to drug users have quite a bit to do with our high drug use and crime rates.
Mark
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 12:56 p.m.
The funny thing is I also see bikes that have been left at bike racks for months and abandoned by their owners. They eventually become nothing more than a few parts, or rusting objects that have to be removed by UM grounds. On the other hand, Ann Arbor no longer requires bikes to be registered, which is a shame, because that is one way to at least thwart the stealing and selling to local bike stores. I imagine that nearly all students never bother to register their bikes, anyway.
MikeyP
Wed, May 16, 2012 : 1:02 a.m.
It isn't Grounds but campus police who impound the abandoned bikes. Only they have the delegated authority to do so. And it isn't that Ann Arbor doesn't require bikes to be registered but they stopped offering that service entirely, even if your bike is registered they no longer have the records. Recording your own serial number is vital, if a stolen bike is recovered the only means the police have to return it to you is by running the serial number and finding the owner that way. If you don't provide police with the serial number then you're outta luck. There are plenty of free apps on phones these days where you can record your bikes' serial number (and other valuables!) so make sure you do it.
Ann English
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 10:41 p.m.
By "grounds," do you mean groundskeepers? Bikes can be taken apart for transport. Sounds like a tip for the new plaza planners, builders, most especially employees at the future mixed-use buildings between Page and Packard: not too many bike racks will go in there, so no one should abandon a bicycle there, secured when someone else could use it as it is meant to be used: temporarily, not permanently. The nearby residents have even fewer excuses to abandon a bicycle there than others who will come from too far away to walk.
Wolf's Bane
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 12:16 p.m.
When you assume, you do nothing of value. Bikes are stolen for a number of reasons just like cars. To assume it is all drug related is silly.
Robert Granville
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:07 p.m.
To assume is silly. To assume that another person assumed is even sillier.
Silly Sally
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 12:07 p.m.
Bikes are a preferred way to get around for the poor who have no cars and driver's licenseand gas money. Just go to Maple and Liberty or big parts of Ypsi.
a2cents
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:48 p.m.
Street folks also... ride it till it breaks & "get" a different one
Tintin Milou
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:32 p.m.
Sure. Look at all the places that have a high quality of life: Vienna, Geneva, Zurich, Frankfort, Munich... They all have a much higher proportion of cyclists than Ann Arbor. Well, maybe it's an American thing. The best US city is Honolulu, ranked 26th.
Craig Lounsbury
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 11:11 a.m.
maybe the weather contributed. We had several days this January in the 40's and 50's it was much warmer than the previous couple years. So maybe more people were riding their bikes.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 11:10 a.m.
@Mike: I disagree. Most petty crime relates to drug use. Users steal to get money to buy drugs.
Enso
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 12:52 p.m.
Well, good. Let's improve the economy by legalizing drugs. Then you both can claim to be right.
Silly Sally
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 12:06 p.m.
If true, and it could very well be, then who are the "fences" that buy the stolen bikes? The police should set up sting operations to nab them all.