Responding to theft, Public Safety launches bike campaign

Although this past summer saw an overall reduction in crime, the Division of Public Safety launched its new Bike Theft and Safety Campaign in response to a slight increase in bicycle theft.

The campaign consists of safety fairs at each college house, as well as other campus locations including the Penn Bookstore, in an effort to reduce the growing prevalence of bike theft.

“It is not an epidemic, but still a cause for concern,” Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey said.

There were two more bicycle thefts this summer than last summer, according to Dorsey.

“Bikes are an important means of transportation to our students and we feel its important to remind them that they are in an urban environment, that they need to [...] properly lock them,” DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella wrote in an e-mail.

“The first month is a pivotal time, as some [students] are new and many are excited to come back to see friends and start again. It’s our job to keep them focused on safety, especially in a different environment,” she said.

Rush cautioned against leaving bikes on porches of off-campus residences or fastening them to wooden fences, which can be less secure than using bike racks.

“Most of the bikes on porches off campus are stolen cleanly by sawing through wooden railings,” Rush added.

Rush advised students lock their bikes with U-locks, rather than cable or chain locks, which she called “equally ineffective.”

DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella emphasized that bike theft could lead to an added risk of burglary.

“You don’t want to draw anyone to your bike on your porch, because one thing can lead to another and can turn into an opportunity to burglarize a house,” she said.

Despite the increase in theft, DPS has used new technology, such as motion sensor cameras and face detection software, to make several arrests, one of which included a 15-year-old repeat offender outside Huntsman Hall.

Other initiatives include partnerships with the University City District and its network of private landlords to encourage students in off-campus housing to store bicycles indoors.

“Safety and security, however, is a shared responsibility,” Penn Police Captain Joseph Fischer said.

He added that the new campaign not only focuses on theft prevention, but also aims to enforce bike safety laws as a supplement to DPS’s Share the Road program, initiated this past summer.

DPS will continue to issue tickets to motor vehicles parked in bicycle lanes and deliver citations to cyclists who violate traffic laws, in an attempt to reduce cyclist and pedestrian complaints alike.

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