Bike Theft (Day 20)

I enter his office and take an offered seat. The painting of 

George Washington kneeling by his horse in prayer 

draws my attention, as well as the pictures of his family behind him. 

Where is George Washington? I think. 

Where are the fine gentlemen with the wooden teeth that don't care for power or greed?

I look to the badges and stars on the wooden clock: "Sheriff" one reads.

-It was one of the better jobs in the country.

"There’s two kinds of auto theft- Grand theft larsony and joy riding," says Brother Garth Gunderson, University Security Director. Brother Gunderson clarified that bike "borrowing" is not borrowing at all, but is theft, in our interview last Tuesday, and that there is little or no distinction between it and car theft.

"Pety theft is a misdemaneor punishable by the fine not exceeding 1000 or by improsimnotent in the county jail not exceeding on year, or both," he says, quoting out of the book. When someone on campus decides to steal a bike, they pick-up a large chain of events. Most often a student will steal a bike at the top of campus, near the Ricks building, and coast on it down the hill, leaving it down near the snow. The victim comes out to find their bike missing, and "its a sick feeling to walk out and have your bike missing." They do not know if their bike has just been borrowed so they call the campus security. The campus security in turn alerts the Rexburg Police department, and they in turn file the report on the theft. The security sends out their men to search all of the bike racks, starting at the bottom of the hill working they're way up. The bikes are often found off campus, parked in other racks. The victim loses their time. The police and security loses their time, and "the loss just in man hours is usually larger than the cost of the bike." 

"They should be charged with the crime of impersonating an industrious person,"says Brother Gunderson, or in other words they are just being lazy! When asked what we should do to stop this, he replies "lock your bike up...we have not taken a stolen bike report in the last ten years where the bike was locked up." Its as simple as that- if we do not want bike theft on campus all we have to do is lock our bikes. And why don't we lock our bikes up?- "for exactly the same reason that people dont lock their doors on their apartments when they leave."

15 out of the 22 bikes at my rack were locked today. We can all look forward to future surveys in accord with Brother Gunderson's suggestions, and also a lock your bike campaign, helping students be aware of their security. 

"I'm sure there are criminals that just completely rely on the naivety of the students. They could make a killing!" says student Katie Weaver. She locks her bike. 

-Would you like to see an end?

-Oh yeah, I'd love to see an end to crime on campus- but I'm not looking for another job yet.