Editor,
Have you ever had your bicycle stolen? If not, you might.
A 1994 study of bicycle theft on college campuses in the United States conducted by Integrated Cycle Systems found that a four-year college student has a 53 percent chance of having his or her bike stolen. Twenty percent of the stolen bicycles were recovered by police, and only half of those were returned to their owners. It's actually even less considering thefts that were not reported.
I assume the situation is worse now. However, it still hasn't taught a lesson to a majority of bicyclists both inexperienced with theft and those who faced this problem. One of my friends had a bicycle stolen on campus two times in a row and both during the daytime - he still hasn't bought a better lock.
Many of the expensive bikes that are usually an attraction for campus thieves have a cheap lock. Though even U-lock failure is growing in every region, only 2 percent of stolen bikes were locked with a U-lock, so it can reduce your chances to become a theft victim significantly.
I am really surprised that having such an obvious problem, the University of New Mexico Police Department does not make the students aware of the bicycle registration service that is available on campus. It's free and valid for four years so in case your bicycle is stolen you can prove your ownership - if they find it, of course. National Bike Registry charges $25 for a lifetime registration, at natlbike.com. Bicycle Link at bicyclelink.com is an international registry that costs $10 for 10 years.
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Otherwise, many students don't keep the receipt for their bicycles, so when the police do find a stolen bike they cannot return it to the owner because he or she doesn't have any proof of ownership. And then, wiping tears away, you see your bike on sale at the Police Department. You can buy your own bike again, if you want.
When I had my orientation meeting for international students, the police officer warned us about the high statistics of bicycle thefts on campus, but for some reason didn't tell us that they actually have the registration service.
So I decided to not have a bike and to ride a bus instead. Well, at least nobody will steal that.
Regina Larionova
UNM student
