With bicycle theft on the rise and a significant lack of parking at the Santa Rosa campus, SRJC’s District Police cannot stress enough the importance of knowing how to protect your property.
Three students reported bicycle thefts in the month of September alone, one being a case of grand theft in which a student secured a $1,200 bike with a $10 lock. However, there are some easy and effective ways of keeping bikes safer on campus.
The first tip campus police offer is knowing the make, model and serial number of your bike. The location of the serial number can vary depending on the bicycle, but can generally be found underneath the center part of the frame. The best way to store this information is on a phone or computer.
“When somebody’s property is stolen, the only way we can enter that into a computerized stolen property system is by serial number because that’s the only thing that makes that particular item unique,” said SRJC District Police Lieutenant David Willat.
The second method police recommend is to buy a good lock, and secure the bike properly so at the very least the perpetrator can’t get away with the entire bike. “There are locks that someone can’t just break. With the cable locks you can put a small pair of bolt cutters in your jacket and just rip it off. It’s very simple,” said Officer Daniel James of SRJC’s District Police.
Officers also recommend utilizing the various locked cages around campus. They have a green roof and there are roughly a dozen spread around.  It’s a system where students can pay a monthly fee and receive an individualized card to open and lock their bikes. The website to receive a card is www.BikeLink.org, with pre-paid cards also available.
These methods, coupled with awareness and common sense, should help students to better protect their property at SRJC.