Community Service Officer Bo Morris demonstrates how to properly lock up a bike on a standard rack. Active bike theft continues to increase on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Ore. (Kemper Flood/ Emerald)
As UO students and faculty returned to campus this fall, alongside them came their bikes and, according to UOPD Clery Act Crime logs, an over 225% increase in reported bike thefts from spring term 2023 to fall term 2023.
Pieces of bikes destroyed by thieves, singular abandoned bike wheels and clipped bike locks could be seen at almost any bike rack across campus—leaving students across campus bikeless and sometimes out hundreds of dollars.
In two separate incidents during fall term, UO freshman Dylan Elfsten had the seat and tire of his bike stolen from his residence at Hamilton Hall.
“I wish that UOPD or campus housing had more security footage and took it more seriously,” Elfsten said. “Other students’ bikes get stolen on a daily basis.”
According to UOPD Police Chief Jason Wade, UO is not unique in their high bike theft rates as bike thefts have long been a problem at large universities. In effort to combat bike theft, UO has installed numerous different indoor and outdoor secure bike shelters over the years. These are located at all dorms and are accessible only by students and staff.
Other efforts include a service from UO Transportation Services that offers students a yearlong low-cost membership for access to additional bike cages and secure bike lockers across campus, including ones seen outside the EMU, Tykeson Hall and the HEDCO education building. However, UO’s bike cages are not immune to bike thefts and, according to Wade, are easily accessible.
“The problem we have is, [bike cages need] the access card, so there’s only a certain way you can get in there,” Wade said. “But [because] we all were raised in a very polite society, as I’m walking up to the cage, I also hold the door open for you, because I’m polite, I want to help out. That has this detriment, because that’s how [prohibited] people can make that access.”
In response, UOPD is in the process of distributing no trespassing signs within bike cages around campus. Wade acknowledged that a sign would likely not deter bike thieves; however, he explained that the purpose of the signs is to give a reason for UOPD officers on patrol to confront and question individuals displaying suspicious behavior in and around bike cages.
“What occurs is a bicycle thief will shop the location prior to [theft]. They’re going to look at the locks and see which bike they want to steal.” Wade said. “So when [UOPD] sees someone just walking into a [bike cage] with no legitimate purpose, trespassing signs [will] help us be able to at least make a contact with them and say, ‘What are you doing?’”
Another anti-theft initiative that UOPD is looking to expand is a program known as “Keep My Seat Warm,” which launched in 2020. The program offers students a free service to hold their bikes in a UOPD secure facility. Wade said he hopes to find the space and resources to “be a valet” for students’ bicycles, especially during extended breaks and colder weather when students are less likely to use their bikes.
According to Wade, there are 7,274 designated bike lock spaces across campus including bike racks and cages.
“The main thought process of [providing so many spaces] was for accessibility, so that if you’re parking your bicycle at Mckenzie Hall, you don’t have to walk over to Johnson Hall to park your bike,” said Wade. “But that spreads out that location and now, there’s so many bicycles in different locations, and that’s where it’s hard to monitor.”
The Daily Emerald tracked 96 bike thefts reported to UOPD in 2023, spaced out across approximately 42 different locations. The most frequented locations for thieves occurred in more populated areas of campus such as Unthank Hall, New Residence Hall and the Student Recreation Center. UOPD is looking into technology to further help identify locations with high theft rates.
Further calculations by the Emerald showed that over 70% of reported bike thefts happened between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., indicating a trend of midday thefts.
UO student Shaye Beardsley is a resident of Global Scholars Hall and had a bike stolen in October 2023. Beardsley believes that it is still worth it to invest in a high-quality bike, despite the risk that it could be stolen.
“I think biking is one of the most healthy ways to travel, not only just for the person riding but also for the environment,” Beardsley said. “I still think it’s worth it, you’ve just got to make sure you are locking it right.”
Wade said that as thievery tools have advanced he has observed video surveillance of increasingly brazen bike thefts.
“I remember clearly, a person had a pair of bolt cutters and a young lady was standing right here, just unlocking their bike. This person is right there next to them, cuts through a lock, leaves [the] lock on the ground, grabs the bicycle and rides off,” Wade said. “It blended in so well because you’re unlocking your bike and they’re over here unlocking their bike, it didn’t stand out.”
Bike thieves have also damaged bicycle locking infrastructure such as bike racks and cages, with instances of thieves removing bike racks from the ground. As part of a multi-department collaboration to address bike thefts, Wade has recruited Campus Planning and Facilities Management and University Housing to further address how to secure bike racks themselves.
“It’s not just the police department, this [stopping theft] is going to be a community effort,” Wade said.
According to Wade, there is no crossover work between UOPD and EPD for investigating bike thefts. He said that Eugene’s Street Crimes Unit and property crime detectives have the resources to investigate large bike theft operations.
“Our bike theft situation is being perpetrated by very few individuals,”said Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner. “It’s more of an organized effort to steal these bikes, and we want to break those things up.”
EPD runs sting operations where they will leave out a bicycle with a GPS, with the goal of having it stolen in order to track down individual thieves, as well as larger theft rings. Skinner said the program was successful and that EPD has been “able to dismantle some fairly significant bike theft rings.”
Sting operations similar to those run by EPD are something UOPD began experimenting with in 2020. Wade cited the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent staffing problems as the primary barriers to the program. However, as UOPD is now fully staffed, Wade hopes to expand the program.
Even when bikes are not fully stolen, many thieves will target a part of the bike that is not secured and leave the rest of the bike locked to the rack, ripping off wheels, chains and seats. This has led to hundreds of destroyed bikes being littered among bike racks across campus.
While there is no crossover work between EPD and UOPD, Wade said that they have a strong relationship with recovery efforts and returning bikes to their owners.
According to Wade, the only concrete way to ensure your recovered bike is returned is to register it with Project 529, an online registration and outreach program that allows anyone to register their bike online in case of theft.
Chief Outreach Officer for Project 529, Rob Brunt, explained how the lack of tracking ability on bikes allows for theft to be untraceable. “Bikes are the only form of transportation without a pin on it,” Brunt said. “Proving ownership is nearly impossible.”
Project 529 works with UOPD and bike shops in Eugene to report stolen bikes. An app allows users to register a bike with a seven-number shield that acts similarly to a license plate.
“When you hit the alert, the cops will know your bike is stolen, and shops will know what bikes are stolen so they can run a search on the stolen database and connect the dots,” Brunt said.
Brunt believes that the best way to reduce bike theft begins with educating students and members of the community on how to secure their bikes.
“Cable locks don’t cut it,” Brunt said.
UOPD says that the best way to lock a bike is with a steel U-lock and an extension cable so that one can secure both wheels and the frame of their bike.
While Wade acknowledges that many students do not go through the process of reporting their bike stolen, he still encourages students to register their bike and take advantage of the new streamlined online reporting process.
“If we don’t have the serial number [received through registration], I can almost guarantee they will never have a chance to get the bike back,” Wade said. “It’ll be gone at that point.”
The Daily Emerald reached out to the UO Outdoor Program, which facilitates the UO Bike Shop, but were unable to schedule an interview.
