Bicycle thefts continue to be big problem on campus
By Ming Rodrigues
Emerald Contributor
V\ 1 tli bicycles nil ever-popu
!nr means of transportation for
University students, (like thefts
on campus are always a pro!)
Icm. And that problem is get
ling worse.
During the 1990-91 school
year, the number of stolen
bikes soared up 26 percent,
from 1(H) (likes ill 19M9 -1990 to
last year’s l-lti, Few of those
bikes are ever recovered From
January to June this year,
though Campus Security caught
six people in the act of stealing
a (like, only two out of all the
stolen (ekes were recovered
According to the Office of
Public Safety, there ore any
whore from 5,500 to 7,500
liikes on campus with S too tie
ing the average value
"The (like theft situation is
not looking good," admitted
Carey Drayton, Ol’S director
“Though it may be a common
problom faced by other cam
puses in this country, 1 think it
is particularly acute here lie
cause of the number of bikes at
the University and the fact that
many students aren't purchas
ing the more theft-proof U
locks."
The make and quality of a
(like can be the motivating fac
tors for a thief to strike Moun
tain (likes are a prime target,
more so than the more ordinary
10-speed or commuter bikes,
but most thefts occur will)
(likes that present themselves
as easy opportunities, especial
ly when the owners don't (with
er to secure them well.
“There are many students
out there who think that if they
beat up their liikes and make
them look real ugly, they won't
get stolen even if they're not
locked up.” said Drayton
"Sometimes tins strategy
works, sometimes it doesn't
It’s no guarantee
To slop up accommodations
for the throngs of bikes on cam
pus, Ol’S has added 5,i more
(like racks around the Universi
ty, and a pilot project which
began last spring saw more
than 10 (like lockers installed
next to Oregon Mall as an add
ed security measure liikes can
be secured and placed in the
lin ker for double protection.
Unfortunately, the locker?
have not proved to tie very pop
ular. said Drayton Most slu
dents tend to ride from class to
class and don't like to lot k
tlicir liikes in one iiu onvenient
place and spend the day walk
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ON
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Call the Oregon Daily Emer !
Advertising Department at
346-3712
Locking your biko isn t a guarantee that it won t be stolen, but with campus bike theft on the rise its the
best precaution you can trkc To mee' the needs of bike riders, OPS added 53 more bike racks to the
University this year.
inj* around.
However, Curl Jensen, co
owner of Second Nature Hit \
i ll’s, a bike specialist store on
K 13th Avu , vouches for hike
lockers "It doesn't take up
much space, at the same time it
weatherproofs your hike, fait
more importantly a sealed box
like a locker makes it hard for .1
thief to tell if it's holding a hike
or not "
At $25 a year for students
und $50 for faculty and stall,
people can rent the lot kers
from OPS
Hut at a much lower cost, ,1
mmpli' investment in u good
Itu k t .m go .1 long way in drier
ring theft, said Drayton lust se
curing a hike with a table or a
chain lot k is not good enough
when it can he cut or frozen It)
break it, anti all within a few
seconds
A high-level u shaped lock of
hardened steel attaching the
hike frame to a sturdy, immov
able object (one that makes it
difficult for the hike to he lifted
and slipped through), plus a ca
hie around the seat post and
wheels are the safest bets, Jen
sen said
Merely removing a bike part
like the wheels or seat, might
prevent a bike from Ixdng rid
den away, but if it’s not proper
ly sutured, it still doesn't mean
that the hike can't he stolen,
Jensen said, adding tb.it miss
mg parts tain he easily replaced
U-shaped hx ks come in a va
riety of models ranging in price
from Sill to Still depending on
the kind of security features
they Include
To encourage and reward
people for taking the time and
effort to secure their hike-,, OPS
offers those who register their
hikes till thrill .1 type i’t u
shaped lo* k that 11 iiir. with
S1.000 theft insurant e On I, ;>
of that, the Otfcti also oilers
what they ( all a 'sleeve to
registered owners It sits on the
bottom har ol thr bikr and
slides over thr top hat, tiding
as a reinforcement to tin' u
shaped looks, making breakage
or thrft all thr more difficult.
Aside from a good lot k, a lit
tlr i ornrnon sense on thr part
id 111ki■ owners can signlfit antly
lessen the risk of theft
A hike parked in a well-lit
and heat ilv trail'll krd area re
dur e its chance ul being stolen,
I tray ton said
I hr Kugenr I’ollci) Ilepart
III ell I r eeo III 111 ends yy r 11 I n g
down thr serial number, make
and model id your hike to ru
sure easy iduntilii iilion
"It helps even more il you
hat e your driver's lit ruse mini
her engraved on v o u r
bike.'suggested d im Hirr, Id'll
puhlit information olht er ()n
i ampus, Ill'S Iretpiently patrols
the area lo look out lor anyone
loitering around hikes
Hut that alone won't work if
the hike owners themselves
don't bother ,11)0111 protecting
their hikes
"Kven if it s just for a brief
stop .it the convenient e store or
the University Bookstore, it's
never loo unit h of a hassle lo
see that your hike is safe and
set tired,'' sail! Birr "Theft i an
oct ur anywhere and at anytime
the opportunity presents it
self "
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