This keeps coming up recently, so I want to make a few points. It seems like every third person I talk to says something to the effect of "I did have a bike up here, but it was stolen last semester." This is stupid, not because your stuff is getting stolen, but because it happened in the first place. We have a lot of club members, we know a lot of people, and we can get the word out about your ride if it goes missing. PLEASE post here if your bike was stolen, if only so we can figure out how predominant this sort of thing is on UND campus (I doubt anyone else is keeping track).
Not blaming anyone for their bicycle getting stolen, just ask that you ask for help if it does.
Some other things to think about:
- If your bike gets stolen, report it to the police (campus or otherwise). If they don't know what is happening, they can't do anything about it. Also, if you give them a good description or a photo, they can call you when they recover or find material that may have been stolen.
- Go take a photo of your bike right now (right now!). Write down the
serial number. Then if it goes missing you have that much more information to give us and the police.
- Buy a lock and use it correctly. Make sure the lock can't be slipped off the bicycle or the thing to which you're locking it. You wouldn't believe how many bicycles I could own if I snagged every one I saw on campus that had a cable lock you could just slip off.
- Finally, keep your eye out for suspiciousness (I can't believe spell check is letting that through). If it looks like someone is messing with a bike, or riding a bike that isn't the right size, or just acting jumpy, call them out. Chat he or she up about the bike and remember what it looks like, then check here to see if anything is missing. A physical description of a potential thief could help the police out a lot more.
We now return to what will hopefully remain a quiet thread--but only if this means nobody's stuff is getting stolen.