The U of T is expanding the Bike Bait program it started last year (where they stuck GPS tags on high end bikes and then tracked them as they were stolen), now adding stickers that say "this could be a bait bike" to make would-be thieves think twice.

Apparently, theft levels on campus have dropped from 2-3/week to 1/week! Great job!

The University of Toronto is stepping up it’s war on bicycle theft on campus with a new sticker program that encourages cyclists to place a “this bike could be a bait bike” sticker on their bicycles. The goal is to make thieves think twice about snatching and running off with a bike -- something that still happens at least once a week on the St. George campus.

U of T is the first university in the country to have this sticker program available on campus, said Corporal Peter Franchi of the U of T campus police and co-ordinator of the Bike Bait program. Since the pilot Bike Bait program was introduced last year, a number of charges have been laid, including six arrests so far.

Constable Gary Borges plays the part of a thief during a Bike Bait demonstration. Image: Mike Andrechuk

Labels: news

4 Comment(s):

I goto uoft. And have started riding my bike to school this year.


Curious..

anyone know the most common method of stealing?

Till now, I have been avoiding those "Rings" as I have heard lots of bad about them.

I figure... Locking to a small tree or lamp post would be best as if you were to cut that down... you'd be taking down something pretty tall...

By  Tory, at 5:49 PM  

My understanding is that the bikes most likely to be stolen are those that are easiest to steal, namely, bikes that are not properly locked. The best way to keep your bike safe is to ensure that it is harder to steal than the one next to it.

The post-and-ring bike locks aren't too bad, but they are vulnerable to the ring being broken with a two-by-four. The best way to protect yourself is to lock both wheels and the frame together to the rack. Thieves prefer to ride the bike away from the site, since carrying a bike with wheels locked to the frame is very conspicuous.

Also, don't lock your bike up outside over night. No matter how strong your lock is, a thief can break it given enough time.

Hope that helps.

By  Bradford Hovinen, at 9:58 AM  

Great advice Bradford.

Tory, the locks make a world of difference. Cable locks are notorious for not preventing theft, so u-locks are a better option.

It's often hard to lock a wheel to the frame PLUS the post/tree/whatever, and I've seen a lot of bikes locked with two u-locks - one locking the wheel to the frame and the other locking the frame to something.

By  bikingtoronto, at 4:10 PM  

Great Contributors to the theft scheme
On July 21st, 2008 Anonymous (not verified) says:
Canadian Tire and similar box stores contribute to these thefts, all the locks sold in their stores are grossly inadequate to secure a bicycle for even 5 seconds, and they know it.

Also why aren't the stores selling bikes make registration part of the bike sale process, then provide the police with the list weekly or monthly.

By  Anonymous, at 12:01 PM