Four bikes have been reported stolen to the ACU Police Department this semester.
One of these thefts occurred in University Park; another occurred at the Don H. Morris Center. Two of the bikes were stolen from off-campus residences. Three of the thefts occurred in February. ACU Police has no leads or suspects.
Six bikes were reported stolen last spring; fifteen were reported stolen this fall. Smith-Adams was a notable problem area last semester, with half a dozen bikes having been pilfered from the residence hall’s parking lot.
No one who reported their bike stolen or missing provided a serial number. Sergeant Thomas Valdez said without a serial number, a stolen bike is almost impossible to recover.
“All we have is the description or the make or the model of the bike, but no serial number,” Valdez said. “Bicycles are pawned or sold by pawn shops all the time, all over the city, all over the state.”
Valdez said u-shape steel locks are harder to defeat than cables.
“Some of the other flimsier ones, it doesn’t take much to cut them,” Valdez said.
Lieutenant Randy Motz said students should keep their bikes locked, record the serial number and keep their bikes monitored.
“The number one person to prevent bike theft is the owner,” Motz said. “Lock it up, don’t leave it here all summer.”
Most bike’s serial numbers are located on under the bottom bracket, near where the pedals meet. Motz said students should take a picture of their bike and flip it over to record the serial number as well. Â Missing bikes should be reported as soon as possible to ACU Police.
