To Catch a Bike Thief: New Web Series Using GPS Tracker Bike Baits
6 Mar 2012Last March, we posted a video on how local law enforcement were placing “bait bikes” on the UT campus to catch the increasing number of bike thefts on campus. But bike theft isn’t just a domestic problem. The unlawful taking of non-motorized pedal cycles is a growing dilemma across the pond too. Check out these statistics:
- Cycle theft has increased by 75 percent in four months in central London
- 533,000 bikes are stolen in the UK each year
- Cambridge is touted as the capital of bike theft of Britain
And let’s not leave out Vancouver, where police have reported an increase in bike thefts , including bikes stolen from bike racks and from apartment balconies. This is due in part to the increasing number of cyclists in Vancouver who are using the bike as their go-to mode of transportation — and to incorporate a healthier lifestyle.
The Sting
To recover stolen cycles from actual thieves in Vancouver, a group of seven cyclists plan to place GPS-tracker bait bikes to catch bike theft criminals. But with an interesting spin. They’re putting it out there — on camera — for the world at large to see.
These tech-savvy cyclists will chronicle their baiting, tracking, and recovering adventures during a new web series set to debut in April 2012. Aptly named, the series will be called “To Catch a Bike Thief “. Get an early look by viewing the pilot’s trailer on You Tube.
“If thieves have to start wondering whether all bikes have GPS trackers in them, then hopefully – just maybe – they’ll think twice”, says Ryan Whyte, Bait Bike Intercept Team Dispatcher.
The GPS tracker on the bike bait works like this: A vibration sensor on the GPS tracking device activates a tracker as soon as the bike lock is severed. The tracker then provides a real-time broadcast to a mapping server, which the intercept team can use to develop a strategy to recover the stolen cycle.
The overall goal of the “To Catch a Bike Thief” web series is to raise awareness of the growing problem of bike theft and generate ways that both communities and individuals can guard themselves against bike theft. To dig even deeper, the series’ mission is to explore the social conditions that surround bike theft.
In the United States, over 2 bikes are stolen every minute, according to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing . With the price of gas reaching record levels — and more people choosing to bike to work and school, this number is likely to increase. You can protect your two wheels with a personal GPS tracker.
