Due to abnormally high numbers of bicycle thefts in recent months, the Penn Police Department will be holding bicycle registration in each of the residence halls over the next few weeks.
There have been an average of 15 bicycle thefts per month over the past four months, according to Lieutenant Gerald Leddy.
Because of those high numbers, Penn Police decided to offer the bicycle registration services at each of the residences in an effort to encourage more students to take advantage of those services.
"We're trying to get more kids involved with the registration process because of the number of bikes that are lost at Penn," Leddy said.
In the past, the registration service was offered at the Center for University of Pennsylvania Identification, the registration center that has since been abandoned for other services offered under New Student Orientation. Since CUPID ended, the only way for students to register their bikes was to go to the Penn Police station at 4040 Chestnut Street.
The program starts on Monday at Harrison College House from 4 to 7 p.m. Throughout the next three weeks, the officers will spend a few hours at each of the residences. The last event will take place in the Graduate Towers on Oct. 3.
If students are unable to make it to the registrations at the college houses, they can still have their bikes registered at the police station during the week, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"We will do that every day," Leddy explained. "We're just so interested in keeping students in possession of their bikes that we're willing to go out into the residences."
The department hopes the convenience of the service and the officers' presence will serve to encourage more students to register their bikes.
"We'll have a table set up with uniformed police officers there," Leddy said. "That will be hard to miss."
At the tables, the officers will engrave a registration number on the bicycles. Additionally, they will take a digital photograph of each bike. The photographs will then be stored for at least four years.
"If we get freshmen to register their bike and they lock it up properly, if something happens along their four-year career [the department may be able to] recover their bicycle," Leddy said.
If a student's bicycle is not registered, there is little chance that it will ever be recovered, officers say.
"The difficulty is not having any proof of ownership on the bike itself," Leddy explained.
Sometimes, even if someone notices suspicious activity at a bike rack, there is no way to stop the thief because he or she will claim the bike in question belongs to them. Without a registration number on it, there is no proof otherwise.
Another component of keeping one's bike safe is ensuring that it is always locked up. Penn Police also offer advise on which locks are more effective.
"Bikes are too expensive to lose," Leddy said. "Nobody has $400 around to buy a new bike if their's gets stolen."
Students said they liked the idea of the convenience of having the registration services available in the residence halls.
"It sounds like a good idea," College freshman Michelle Dembiski said. "It is a hassle to have to go out of your way to register your bike."
Some students who are unfamiliar with registration procedures also saw the program as an opportunity to learn more about the benefits of registering one's bicycle.
"Right now, I have no idea where to go or what to do to register my bike," Wharton sophomore Roni Elchahal said. "I don't even know what the disadvantages and advantages of registering your bike are."
