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 RIGHT ON TARGET! 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! 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