Bicycle Theft in York

Locking your bike up to the porch is not going to cut it in this neighborhood anymore. The York neighborhood is seeing a rise in theft, and bicycles are the main targets.

Erin Bennett, a senior at Western Washington University, lives in a house of six in the York neighborhood. So far this year, four of them have had their bikes stolen. 
Each theft came as a surprise to Bennett, “We always lock our bikes to secure posts on our porch,” Bennett said. “But when a bike goes missing, so does the lock.” Simply locking your bike up does not make it as safe as you think in the York district.

According to the City of Bellingham police Department theft and burglary in York has gone up in the last two years

Bicycles are not the only things being taken from people’s homes in the York neighborhood. Many Mac computers and other devices like the iPod touch have been reported stolen this year from York. 

“Any lock can be broken,” Colin Pribe, an employee at Kulshan Cycles, said. “Bolt cutters, lock cutters, these things can get through the best locks,” Pribe said. The solid ‘U-lock’ is a strong bike lock compared to the cable lock, which is easiest to break. “At least one person a week comes in here looking to replace a stolen bike. This year and last summer have been really bad in terms of people coming in looking to replace a stolen bike. I have seen a drastic change from the previous years I worked here.”

            According to the Bellingham Police Department, keeping your bike inside is the best way to prevent bike theft. Keeping your bike in a garage is also a good idea, but garages are often broken into so it is a good idea to keep your bike securely locked while in the garage. 
            Alex Tilley knows the benefits of storing a bike in a garage first hand “I’ve never had my bike stolen, I usually keep it in the garage,” he said. “My roommate isn’t so lucky, he figured his bike would be safe in the backyard just because we live next door to a preschool. It wasn’t.”

            It is also common for residents to find their bikes still at home, but missing the front tire. The front tire on a bicycle is easily removed. This is considered to be an act of vandalism instead of theft, considering the uselessness of a single tire. This is an easy problem to fix. Make sure the front tire is also locked with the rest of your bike or take the tire off yourself and bring it inside with you.

Using a bike to get around is very popular in this neighborhood. Due to the distance from Western Washington University, many students bike to school. It is not unlikely to see three or four bikes locked up on front porches of many houses in this neighborhood. Just as it is effortless for students to walk out their front door in the morning and hop on their bike, it is also just as effortless for them to be stolen.

University students are not the only ones falling victim to theft. Family households in the York neighborhood are just as likely to leave a child’s bike unattended.

 Many stolen bikes go unreported due to a lack of confidence in seeing it returned. “I never told the police,” Bennett said. “Maybe I should have but it seemed like a waste of time. It’s not like they would be scouring the streets with a picture of my green bike in their hand, questioning people riding similar looking bikes.”  Bennett did however check bicycles posted on Craigslist and eBay to see if someone would put his up for sale. He has now given up hope of ever finding his stolen bike, but whenever he sees a green bike ride by, he gets suspicious.