It is that time of year when kids want to ride their bikes. Unfortunately, bike theft is an ongoing problem in Moose Jaw.
Cst. Kyle Cunningham, a school resource officer with the Moose Jaw Police Service, was at École St. Margaret School earlier this week to discuss bike safety. He says that parents should invest in a good bike lock.
“Lock up your bike. I think it is important that we use bike locks because that is the first level of deterrent for a lot of theft. We do see a number of bike thefts throughout the year, but as far as young kids getting their bikes stolen, there is not really a market for that; we don’t see a bike with training wheels getting stolen. But a BMX is something that we see adults ride and a bike like that definitely needs to be locked up. If you can’t lock it up, put it somewhere out of sight — whether you need to bring it into your house at night, or put it in a shed that is locked, or tucked around the corner — put it somewhere that is a bit safer…It makes our job a lot tougher if you aren’t taking measures yourself.”
The police once offered a bicycle identification program. Although that is no longer the case, Cunningham says there are steps cyclists can take to protect their property.
“There are some bike shops that will record that information. We encourage anybody once they get a new bike — and it doesn’t matter whether it is a $50 kid’s bike or a $1,000 adult bike — to record that serial number,” said Cunningham.
“Just about everybody has a smartphone these days, so flip the bike over and take a shot of the serial number. And take a picture of your bike when you buy it so you have it in your records in the event that it does go missing so you can provide that information to us.”
If your bike does go missing, be sure to contact the police at 306-694-7600.
