Pedaling a bike around town during the early days of spring might sound like fun, but be careful at night, or the first ride could be the last.

Monday, March 27, 2000

Pedaling a bike around town during the early days of spring might sound like fun, but be careful at night, or the first ride could be the last.

Bicycle thefts begin to increase with the dawning of spring, and Ironton Police Department Chief Rodney McFarland has already seen a few reports this year.

"We get lots of stolen bike reports here," McFarland said. "It’s a cyclical thing. Now’s when you have them out of garages, get them all cleaned up and start riding them."

Storing bicycles on the front porch will not deter ambitious thieves either, McFarland added.

"Many of the bicycles are taken from people’s homes – from their back porches," he said.

Ensuring that a bicycle can be identified is the only sure precaution against bike theft, besides storing them with lock and key or inside the home, McFarland said.

"Mark it some place inconspicuous, with a name or number so you can identify it," he said. "If the handlebars come off, that’s a good place. You can even scratch it in without detracting from the value of the bicycle."

The police department occasionally offers community service days when they will mark the bikes for area children. No decision has been made yet this year whether or not the department will have a similar activity, McFarland said.

Without some type of mark, or a serial number, recovering stolen bicycles becomes difficult, McFarland said.

"We try to match up stolen reports with recovered bicycles and we call the people," he said. "But a lot of them go unreported. We have about 100 bikes (stored) now."

Only about 25 percent of stolen bikes are ever recovered, McFarland said. Others make their way out of the state, possibly to flea markets where they are resold.

Although many bicycles are stolen by other children, not all are.

The Ironton department always receives calls each year about someone loading bikes into a van, McFarland said.

If something like that is witnessed, McFarland suggests getting the license number and calling the police.

"Bike theft remains pretty constant," he said.

Only the community can help put a stop to it by remaining vigilant and taking precautions, McFarland said.

When a bike is stolen, the more information available, the better the chances of recovery, he said.

Police officers need to know the name of the bicycle, the serial number if known, the name and address of the owner, from where the bike was taken a description of the bicycle and the value, McFarland said.