Campus Connection

UWL police, student offer advice to prevent bicycle theft

UWL Police Officer David Pehl has lost count of how many times he’s heard a student say, “I never thought it would happen to me.” UWL student Shanna Weber is one of those students. She had been riding her bike around campus for more than a year and locking it up with a hefty chain lock until it was stolen earlier this year. “They cut right through it,” she says. “It’s a clean cut.” Unfortunately for Weber, she hadn’t registered the bike, so getting it back is a challenge. https://youtu.be/NFk7aA-swD0 Every year, UWL police receive more than 60 reports of stolen bikes. A majority of those aren’t registered. How can students avoid being a part of that statistic? “First and foremost use a U-Lock,” says Pehl. “It may be $30-40, but that’s cheaper than having to replace a bike.” Other advice from Pehl includes:

• Making sure the lock is around the frame of the bike,
• Riding an inexpensive bike on campus,
• Registering the bike with both campus and city police.

That’s a message Weber is taking to heart. “I never thought it would happen to me, but, yeah, it did,” she says.