Cyclists, lock up your bikes.
That’s what the University Police and the Cycling Club are saying after a rise in thefts within the first month and a half on the California State University, Long Beach campus, according to police records.
CSULB’s Cycling Club will have a meeting on Wednesday in which members will have a photo competition of terrible bike locking on CSULB to show the difference between a properly locked and improperly locked bike.
Eight bikes were stolen from campus and its nearby housing area since the beginning of the fall 2015 semester, which is more than the number of bikes stolen in that timeframe last fall. Most of these thefts are typically due to owner negligence, according to University Police. Most of these incidents usually involve students using a cable lock rather than a U-lock, Lt. Richard Goodwin of University Police said.
“As of late, there’s been a spike of bike thefts,” Goodwin said. “I can’t really tell you why there’s been a spike other than the possibility existing that the bikes have been stolen and not properly secured.”
Cycling Club president Vince Meija said that students must be aware about how to properly lock up their bikes. The competition is to teach the club members that the bike locking issue does exist on campus. Improperly locked bikes could be easy pickings for thieves.
“It’s not that because they didn’t try, but because there’s no technique in how they’re really locking it,” Meija said. “They’re not really locks. They’re ropes that can be cut.”
Popular hot spots for a bike to be stolen are near the library, campus housing and rec center. These areas would typically have a lot of bikes parked at the bike rack because the owners would stay indoors in those areas for a longer period of time, Goodwin said.
“It’s just an epidemic, and the main proprietor is the cable lock,” said Sgt. Keith Caires of University Police.
Cable locks can easily be cut with a wire or bolt cutter, Caires said. He also said that in one case, a potential bike thief was caught with bolt cutters wrapped in jeans on campus. When questioned, the thief said that he was helping a friend to cut his bike lock in Huntington Beach. However, university police checked and his information did not add up, as the thief was previously a convicted felon, Caires said.
“I kind of find it hazardous just because many people spend a lot of money on a bike,” freshman computer engineering major Allan Mantalvo said.
The University Police have provided several means of educating bike owners on how to secure their property. Caires and the crime prevention unit have educated new students in SOAR and on move-in day. Caires also partnered up with the Cycling Club in order to educate members on the importance of protecting personal property.
The string of thefts might not be solely because of thieves targeting cable locks. Meija and Caires said that owners lock their bikes easily for thieves to steal without having to use bolt cutters. Some owners have locked their bikes in areas where a thief can easily screw off the wheel or the handle bar, temporarily remove either one of those parts, and then remove the bike itself.
“I think it’s kind of asking to be stolen,” junior mechanical engineering major Cameron Chapman said. “I mean, we live in Long Beach… I’ve seen people go up and snip [locks] and [ride] off. Then I see the owner running off and saying ‘Hey! That’s my bike!’”
Students can always register their bikes for free with the University Police at the second floor patio area of the University Student Union. There, they can get a license number to put on their bikes, which, according to Caires, can help deter thieves as they see that the bike has been registered with police.
The bike equipment brand ABUS has partnered up with the California State University system to provide a discount on its U-locks at the student bookstore. However, ABUS can only provide 100 U-locks per school year, and is currently sold out at the bookstore.
The bike’s safety is also up to the concern of its owner, according to Meija. Both Goodwin and Caires said that bike owners must be aware of how valuable their bike is, so they must also bother to spend a bit more on a U-lock rather than a cable lock. Furthermore, it is entirely up to the owner to decide on properly securing their bike, according to Caires.
“You may lock your bike up or not lock your bike up and thinking ‘Hey, I’m gonna leave it here for a while’ and they take off for an hour and they come back to see that their bike is gone.” Goodwin said.
My Grand daughters bike was stole over spring break , Sunday night April 03, 2016. It was locked with A U Lock . We cannot afford to replace this bike. I think there should be better security put in place, so this does not happen again.
Hi, Irma. Ross here.
According to University Police, one of the leading causes of bike thefts are owner incompetence. Depending on the location and time-frame to when the bike was locked, it could very well be possible for it to be stolen – including if it was left overnight.
In one of the crime blotters I wrote, a student left her bike at the Walter Pyramid overnight, thus raising the risk for it to get stolen, which very well did take its turn to the eventual conclusion.
The bicycle club president and University Police strongly recommend to park the bike in broad daylight and in an area where there are mass amounts of students.