Want to prevent your bike from being stolen? Tips from Bellingham police to keep it safe

Bellingham isn’t short on bicyclists and, as a result, isn’t short on bike thefts, either.

In 2023, the Bellingham Police Department received 349 reports of stolen bikes. Of that total, 54 were recovered — only 15% of bikers reunited with their bicycles.

Bike theft is a legitimate concern for many bicyclists, but there are steps you can take to protect your bike, and what to do if it’s stolen

Record the bicycle’s serial number

The easiest way to protect your bike is to record its serial number, according to Lieutenant Keith Johnson of the Bellingham Police Department.

“[It] can be a pretty simple step but is just something that falls through the cracks,” Johnson told the Bellingham Herald. “If there’s one piece of advice I could give to bike owners, it’s record your serial number and store it somewhere you’re not going to lose it.”

Bellingham Police had the serial numbers of 65% of the bikes they recovered last year and five of the six they’ve recovered so far in 2024. According to Johnson, bikes are often cosmetically changed after they’re stolen, so they become unrecognizable. In those cases, the only way to identify them is by serial number.

“What happens a lot is somebody gets their bike stolen, and then an officer will run across somebody downtown riding a bike. A lot of time, they’ve been spray-painted or some of the components have been switched out,” Johnson said. “But the one thing that’s usually still there is the serial number.”

Johnson recommended that bikers use 529 Garage or Bike Index to register their bike’s serial number, along with photos and details.

Take pictures

Recovering a bike without a recorded serial number is possible, but that usually requires a detailed description and is contingent on the bike not being altered.

Johnson recommends having pictures of your bike ready so you can give the police as detailed a description as possible if it’s stolen.

“If we have those, we’ll post it out to the rest of the officers and say, ‘Hey, keep an eye out for this; it was stolen last night,’” Johnson said.

Proper locks and storage

While many bikers use cable locks, they tend to be more susceptible to theft.

“A lot of thieves have bolt cutters,” Johnson said. “We definitely recommend that U-style lock with that tamper seal.”

Even after a ride, bikers need to watch where they’re storing their bike, according to Johnson.

“If they have a real high-end bike, don’t keep it in an outside storage shed or in your backyard,” he said.

Another common cause of preventable bike theft is insecure storage on the back of a car.

“If you’re going to go into a brewery or something after riding to Galbraith,”Johnson said, ”make sure that thing’s locked securely on the back of your car.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2024 at 5:00 AM.