Bait Bikes Outfitted with GPS Tracking Technology Popular on College Campuses
12 Sep 2013Bikes with GPS tracking units are being used to bait criminals and make arrests.
College students find bicycles to be useful as transportation, not only because they are affordable, but they are easy to ride throughout larger campuses, and are better for the environment. Unfortunately, criminals take advantage of how easy they are to steal.
According to the FBI, bicycle thefts cost bike owners about $350 million every year, in the United States alone. This assumes each bike was around $250. While this may not seem like a lot compared to a car, it is a lot for a full-time college student who has a part-time job and groceries to buy. The National Bike Registry claim that bicycle theft is the biggest theft issue on college campuses.
Due to this problem, several universities in the U.S. are now placing GPS tracking units on bikes, to be used as “bait bikes.” The goal is to catch bike thieves with the GPS trackers, and hidden cameras in some cases. The bikes are placed in locations where thieves tend to strike, such as dark areas of the campus late at night. The bait bikes don’t have locks on them, but they do have GPS tracking technology.So far, it is been highly successful at the University of Texas in Austin, Arizona State University, University of Wisconsin in Madison, Tulane University and Winthrop University. Many arrests have been made, and that has led to a significant decline in bicycle theft.At Tulane University, 3-4 bikes were being stolen every week. After implementing the GPS bait bike system, it was reduced to 1-2 a month. Word gets around fast, detracting thieves from attempting the theft. North Carolina State University had similar results, with the amount of thefts being cut by half.
In South Carolina, Winthrop University had the best results, with the thefts being reduced by 75 percent. The police chief of Winthrop, Frank Zebedis, told reports, “A crook is going to take the path of least resistance. We put the bikes on campus the same way students do, but we make them easier to steal.” This was in response to how they are catching the thieves.
One of the most bike-friendly cities in the United States, Austin, decided to try out the program in 2011. The University of Texas implemented bait bikes, and have caught 80 thieves since then using this high-tech tool.
“I personally arrested two notorious bike thieves last week, and we’ve had at least five regulars arrested,” said Ruth Jasso, a University of Texas police officer.
Aside from using this program to reduce thefts, university officials offer several pieces of advice to college students who want to keep their bike safe. They say to use high-quality locks, more than one lock of their bicycle if possible, and to attach their bikes to racks used specifically for bikes, rather than a random post or sign.
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